


Fury and Confusion

by lebensmude (lebensmude76)



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/F, F/M, Romance, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-08 12:10:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 41
Words: 137,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8844442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lebensmude76/pseuds/lebensmude
Summary: What if Tapu Koko didn't save Luna and Nebby when they fell from the wooden bridge? At the whim of this arbitrary spirit, Lillie is left with no choice but to become a trainer. As a valuable pawn in a wild and unforgiving region, she must learn to stand alone. Part I complete.





	1. Part I: Lillie I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aloha, and welcome to my story.
> 
> My idea for Fury and Confusion was born about five days after Pokemon Sun and Moon was released, and I remember the exact moment it came to me. Lillie, easily the most compelling character in the Pokemon game franchise, carried around this little bundle of stardust and sunshine for nearly the whole game. Instead of keeping him, she handed him off to the main character right before the climax of the story.
> 
> I didn't even want Nebby!
> 
> Upon playing the game through to its conclusion, I was struck by a startling sense of lacking. Lillie needed to be more than she was. So, I booted up my computer and got to work. As you read, you'll find that I deviate quite heavily from the default pokemon world. A few of the changes, so you know what you're getting into:
> 
> \- Many of the younger characters, Lillie included, are aged up a few years (she's about 14 at the start). Our protagonists are put in darker, more mature situations, ones that eleven-year-olds would not be able to handle.
> 
> \- The world is much less idealistic and more of a mirror of the real world. This does not mean there are not fantastical elements, but you will find that where they exist, they will have a rational explanation.
> 
> \- Pokemon intelligence and their relationship to humanity are quite different from the in-game or anime world.
> 
> \- While the broad strokes of Alolan geography remain the same (same islands, routes and game locations in similar places) much of the region is tweaked to line up with the real world. Part of my depiction of Alola is informed by me having lived in Hawaii for most of my life.
> 
> \- Certain characters have met and interacted with each other prior to the events of this story in ways that did not occur in the games, and in ways that have great significance to the overall plot of the story. In addition to that, and a more minor note, hair colors for all characters are changed to the closest real-world approximation, with the exception of a few who are explicitly using hair dye.
> 
> \- I went into this intending to mess around with Lillie's character. Don't expect her to come out the same way she went in.
> 
> This story has gone through several revisions to maintain consistency, the most major of which completely reworked the story structure and first 60k words of the story. If you're a reader from prior to that rewrite (started February 2017 and ended June 2017), check the note at the end of Chapter 16.
> 
> I sincerely hope that you enjoy this story.

* * *

**Part I: The Runaway**

* * *

****Lillie stared at the rocks below, the rapids pulsing over them in strong, regular bursts. The spearow, frightened by Nebby's outburst, had long since fled into the cover of the trees. She knelt on a rocky outcropping, unable to tear her eyes away.

Her arms trembled, barely able to support her weight. In the ravine below, she saw nothing. Downstream she saw nothing. The water rushed around a bend further away. There were no bodies, just the flowing river kicking up against the sheer cliff face as it rushed along wet, mossy rocks.

She stood. _How high up am I? Forty feet? Sixty? What if they hit a rock?_ Lillie backed away. The forest around her was silent, but somehow she could still hear Nebby screaming. A long, shrill sound that had suddenly stopped several moments before, clipped short by a tiny, distant splash.

The falling girl had been so calm. All the way down to the bottom, she had been calm.

Lillie shook her head. She needed to find help. She had to get the Kahuna.

Feet pounding beneath her, she sprinted back towards town. The pathway was soon deemed irrelevant as she found herself crashing through bushes and bounding over boulders. Brushing aside some fronds of a plant she couldn't care enough to recognize, the ground opened up beneath her. She let out a surprised yelp at the sudden, short drop.

Her feet slipped when they made contact with the wet grass of the hill and down she went. End over end over end she rolled, her arms held in front of her head. Weeds whipped at her face, the dew of the grass sticking dirt and twigs to her bare arms.

Soon the chaos stopped and she lifted herself, shaking. Lillie walked forward slowly, but her knees gave way at the foot of the small hill. Her hat was gone – when she lost it she couldn't say. Her arms were covered in scratches and bruises that somehow didn’t sting. She stared at the entrance of Iki Town and began to cry.

It wasn’t long before the professor found her. Feet pounding in the dust of the road, he ran over. One arm was around her shoulders and his calm voice was in her ear almost immediately. She clung to him as if on instinct, her grip leaving long creases in his coat.

“…happened?” Lillie looked up at him, catching only the end of his question. She couldn’t respond. He asked again, “What happened?”

The first impulse was to cry again, but then she saw the girl’s face as she slipped beneath the water. Calm, yes, but there was also confusion, uncertainty, shock. Lillie began to say everything at once, the words tumbling from her mouth messily, contorted.

“The girl. She fell into the water,” She forced it out, then swallowed. Pain in the back of her throat from the crying. She struggled to speak further. “The bridge gave out. There were spearow that were harassing him. And Nebby… They both fell into the water!”

Professor Kukui stood quickly. He shook Lillie, urging her to come with him. After a moment she did, tears welling in her eyes again. She followed him back into town, their pace hurried. Lillie could feel the numbness in her cheeks, the cool mountain air chilling her skin.

* * *

“Luna!” Kahuna Hala’s voice bellowed out across the river’s mouth. Elsewhere, other calls from the villagers disturbed the quiet night. Lillie shivered, clutching Professor Kukui’s jacket close around her shoulders. She had stopped sobbing hours before. Now she sat on a rock, staring out at the ocean rhythmically pulling itself along the beach.

The town had been quick to organize search parties, especially at the behest of Professor Kukui and Kahuna Hala. The coast guard had been called to search the ocean in case Luna had been swept out to sea. Professor Kukui was further up the river like most of the other volunteers, patrolling the river’s edge. There were easily over seventy people looking for any sign of the missing girl.

They’d found nothing.

“Luna!” She felt more than heard the Kahuna shouting the words. Fists clenched, he stared out into the river. Lillie hoped he would see something. Anything.

Kahuna Hala organized the search over ten hours earlier. Though the big man made Lillie take breaks in her search every few hours, her feet ached and blistered. For the first half of the search, she’d been active in helping the other volunteers. Even when she was forced to sit down she found herself scanning her surroundings, hoping, praying. Now, after night had fallen and the calls of nocturnal pokemon picked up their nightly routine, Lillie could no longer bring herself to raise a shout.

Kahuna Hala spun about as a man ran up to him. Lillie heard his words but didn’t register them.

“I’ll check Kala`e Bay later in the night,” the Kahuna growled in reply, his voice hoarse from shouting, “that, or get one of the other experienced trainers. It’s too dangerous to send someone down there without a pokemon or a gun.”

Lillie glanced over as the man nodded swiftly and took off, his feet kicking up sand in his wake as he made his way back to the road. Police cars lined up by the fences, the shadows of several people grouped up nearby.

The volunteers were being swapped out. Fresh faces and bodies to replace the weary. Hopeful chatter mixed with the worried mumbles. Lillie listened to it all quietly, but she knew what they were all thinking. This long after someone disappeared into the water meant only one thing. There had been no news. No progress.

There was nothing.

* * *

Nothing for hours became nothing for days.

Lillie curled up on the couch, shifting position yet again. The cushions were hard and flat now. Sunset light drifted through shuttered windows, painting the loft in orange. She curled up on her makeshift bed in soft gray pajamas, Her white dress lay discarded on the floor in a pile. Burnet had labored to clean the dirt and grass stains out of the white silk without tearing the fragile material. It had taken hours, but Lillie still couldn’t bring herself to get out of bed and get dressed.

Nobody ever managed to find her hat.

Occasionally Professor Kukui or Burnet would gently call from below and she would ignore them. Food was brought to her and she’d nibble on it and leave it alone. Every day had begun to feel the same: Burnet would leave for her job in the city in the morning and Professor Kukui would hang around the house making phone calls or writing on his laptop. It was the same routine they had even before Luna disappeared, as if nothing had changed for them at all.

The only difference was that she heard them whispering below sometimes.

_Such a tragedy. I really feel for Luna’s mother._

_They’d just moved out here too._

_There are volunteers still searching but…_

At some point she had stopped crying. She occupied her time instead staring at the wall, outlining and memorizing the grooves in the wood. Occasionally she’d get up and pace around, the wood floor creaking against her bare feet. Sometimes she’d grab the Master Ball from her bag and turn it over in her hands, tapping it to hear its hollow ring. If Nebby ever got out of hand, Lillie had resolved to capture him. She’d never followed through on that promise, no matter how many times he’d escaped her bag or ran about without heeding her commands. If she had caught him, perhaps none of this would have happened.

Sometimes she would hear Nebby’s screaming in her ear. Sometimes she’d see Luna’s calm, impassive face as she disappeared beneath the water. There had been hints of red in the water, or had she imagined it?

As each day passed, there were less quiet conversations, and Lillie got up to move about more and more. The images remained in her mind, vivid and bright.

* * *

“It’s been nearly two weeks,” Burnet implored – perhaps a bit too loudly; Lillie could hear the professor move to shush his wife. She started again, not quite quiet enough, “What are we supposed to do about her?”

To his credit, Lillie couldn’t hear Professor Kukui’s response. Evidently it wasn’t what his wife wanted to hear.

“It can’t go on forever,” she replied. “She’s been here nearly four months and we still don’t even know where she’s from. Even if she is upset over Luna, we have to…”

Lillie stood, the couch rattling from underneath her, her silk white dress ruffling as she straightened it over her body. Their conversation died out immediately. Her feet shuffling against the floor was like thunder in a still night. Grabbing her bag and descending the ladder was the easy part, but her throat clenched up as she brushed past her two guardians. The Master Ball rolled about inside her bag.

“Lillie…” Professor Kukui called. Burnet looked away.

For the first time in a long time, Lillie threw open the front door and walked outside, every movement she made bristling with emotion she couldn’t begin to put words to. She’d barely made it halfway down the driveway when the professor caught up to her. A familiar hand was laid over her shoulder, but Lillie shoved it off herself quickly.

“Lillie, where are you going?” There was concern in his voice. The thought lessened the tightness of her throat and she blinked back a sudden overflow tears. Lillie didn’t look up at him.

“I’m being a burden. I was supposed to have gone by now, wasn’t I?”

“Nonsense. Am I supposed to turn a young girl out on the streets? Burnet is just stressed. We’ve been giving statements nearly every day. There’s talk of legal action against the Kahuna and Iki Town,” a long pause filled with an emotion Lillie couldn’t place, “but that has nothing to do with you.”

“But it was my fault!” Lillie shouted. “She might be dead because of me.”

Professor Kukui was silent. He reached for her again and Lillie grimaced, walking away from him.

“I just need to be alone for a while,” Lillie finally said.

“Of course.” She could see him nod at the edges of her visions. He didn’t go back into his house.

* * *

Lillie trudged through the wet of the forest north of town. Rain fell in sheets, running along the asphalt of the thin road. Greenery poked through the black wherever it could. Her feet slipped against the grass occasionally when she walked. The rain washed tears from her eyes as her shoulders bobbed in the dark.

The imprint of the professor’s arm around her shoulder evoked an older memory.

Lillie was staring up at the petrified visage of a long-dead pokemon, her mother’s arm around her. It was another beautiful treasure, one of her mother’s personal collection. It stood behind protective glass, illuminated with bright white lights that cast long, dark shadows.

A long-dead arbok was digging its head into grass that no longer existed. Its fangs were somewhat extended, stabbing dull points that prodded the air. The pokemon had decayed many thousands of years prior, the only evidence of its existence being its own plaster cast etched out of layers of old ash.

“Imagine, Lillie,” her mother stated excitedly, “the arbok was just digging its head into the underbrush, looking for food like it always had, and completely unaware its death was mere seconds away. Then, all of a sudden,” she mimicked an explosion with her hands, “bam! The nearby volcano explodes in a massive plinian eruption. The snake bristles at the sound – see how its spine arcs here – but mere moments later the pyroclastic flow hits, encasing the poor creature in ash and debris. But its death was not for nothing, no. It’s captured here just for us.”

Lillie had looked up at her mother then and saw the wide smile on her beautiful face, the same smile she always had when she showed Lillie her collection, her teeth bared much like the arbok.

A car passed, kicking up water over her legs. The cold spray pulled her from her memories and she stopped, turning her attention to her legs. Lillie smiled ruefully – the car’s passing had made much of a difference as drenched as she was from the rain. She turned her attention ahead of her, where a lonely signpost stood just barely visible under the light of a streetlamp.

Kala`e Bay.

“Caution! Predatory pokemon ahead.” Lillie read the warning again, remembering Kahuna Hala’s brief conversation.

Had they checked for Luna there yet, or had it been forgotten in the chaos of that night? Lillie wiped rain from her eyes and turned down the dirt road. Not much further a large chain link fence rose, blocking off further access. Beyond it the forest grew thick and dark. There were no more street lights here.

The rain was slowly letting up, letting early moonlight through the break in the clouds. Lillie ran her hands down the fence as she walked along. After a couple of miles of hiking to get here from the Professor’s house, her legs were sore and aching, but there was little point stopping now.

Bright moonlight shone down from clear skies by the time she reached the familiar gap in the fence. Lillie paused. The cliffs weren’t too far off now. Beyond the foliage she could see the lights of Iki Town peppering the coast across the bay. Houses blinked in the dark, growing less dense as her gaze continued up the mountain.

Professor Kukui took her along this route when she first showed up in town. He’d been carefree, unrestrained as he ushered her through, smiling all the while.

“Oh, it’s only just a little bit dangerous,” he had grinned at her. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

He wasn’t here this time.

She hesitated.

“Mother was right about me,” Lillie said to the darkness. She gritted her teeth and gripped her fists tight.

She slipped through the gap.

* * *

Froakie calls began to split the night with their distinctive two-note calls. The occasional spinarak chirped alongside them. Alongside them, she heard the drip-dripping of rain water slipping from moist jungle leaves. These sounds together formed a music of the night that Lillie fixated on, her legs laboring through the now-muddy path the professor had shown her months before.

Lillie knew Burnet would be furious. The silk dress she’d spent so long trying to clean was once against stained with mud. A new, long tear ran along her torso where she’d gotten the fabric caught on a wayward branch, her skin showing through where her ribcage met her stomach.

Mother would be mad too. Lillie paused, her hand running along the tear, feeling the long scrape in her skin. She kept moving.

Eventually the dirt made way to gravel, then to sand. There was the crashing of small waves in her ears and the briny odor of the ocean in her nose. From here on the beach she could still see the light-speckled outline of Ko`olau Range stretching into the sky.

Lillie kicked off her slippers, feeling the sand against her bare toes. Salt water rolled over her feet, the ocean vast and dark before her.

For a long time she paced along Kala`e Bay, glancing occasionally at the rocks and cliffs further down the beach. It was there the bagon made their nests. The creatures were notorious for throwing themselves off the cliffs and dashing themselves on the rocks below. Those that did not die would climb back up the cliff face, readying themselves for more jumps.

Out here on the beach should be safe, or so Professor Kukui had told her.

The lull of the ocean waves washing over her feet called the river rapids back into her mind. With it the image of Luna as she slipped beneath the water, the sound of Nebby screaming as he was washed away. Wind kicked her dress up around her and goosebumps ran down her bare, wet legs.

Perhaps Luna had drowned right there. Perhaps the last two weeks of search parties calling in the dark and coast guard helicopters thrumming overhead were for nothing. Perhaps Luna still clung to life in some forgotten corner of the island or even, god forbid, out in the middle of the ocean.

_It was my fault._

It was foolish to come out here. What could she even do that dozens of search and rescue teams could not? Luna was out there somewhere, but Lillie could do nothing to help her.

It still felt odd to use her name. Lillie only learned it from the rescue efforts. She had never actually introduced herself to the girl. She’d just cried and begged for help, too afraid to head out onto the bridge herself to help Nebby. If only…

_If I had gone out onto the bridge, I would be the one missing._

A low growl behind her shook the thoughts from her mind. Lillie spun, startled, just as the dark shaped lunged. Teeth clamped down on the upper end of her leg, fangs digging into the flesh of her left thigh. Lillie screeched, an eruption of pain in her leg, falling backwards into the shallow water. Her other leg instinctively lashed out, kicking the side of the dark creature. She swung her bag at the thing to no effect. It thrashed, tearing at her skin, and she screamed again.

It was smallish, maybe two feet long. With her free hand she grabbed it by the neck and pulled, forcing it off of her. It protested powerfully against her grip and she tossed it as hard as she could back into the water.

Heat against her skin as blood poured from her leg. She scrambled to her feet as the thing splashed in the water behind her, squealing. She stood and her left leg immediately gave way. She fell to the sand. Lillie touched the wound and her hand came away warm. Her dress was torn high up her thigh and great holes pulsed where the fangs had dug in.

She fought off a wave of lightheadedness and crawled further up the beach, her breaths coming out hard, squeaking and gasping as she struggled to move faster. She glanced behind her. The thing was already on its feet again, growling and gnashing. It lunged.

Her right foot caught it in the mouth and she immediately started kicking. Panic fueled her attacks, the scent of blood in her nose. Her head grew heavy as the tightness in stomach began to spread, her mind clouding. She felt her bag pressing against her as she threw the thing off her again.

She felt the Master Ball rolling about in her bag.

The creature charged for the third time, bloody fangs glistening in the dark. Its bulbous head shone in the moonlight. Lillie swung her fist, Master Ball clenched in hand, punching the creature square in the side of its neck.

The Master Ball clicked open, a red haze covering the creature, and the thing disappeared.

Lillie struggled to breath, each breath coming in sharp gasps as her heart slammed into the inside of her rib cage. Her ears were full of the sound of blood pumping. She got to her feet and realized she couldn’t stand, instead falling backwards. The air was rank with iron. Lillie looked down at the blood covering her arms and legs.

Her head spinning, she lay her head on the sand, wondering why it felt softer than any bed she’d ever slept on.

She saw Nebby out on the bridge, the spearow harassing him from the air. She saw Luna running up to her, a concerned look on her face. Despite her preoccupation over Nebby, Lillie couldn’t help but be taken aback by how pretty Luna was.

Movement around her now, a flash of light and some sound.

It was all noise and pain.


	2. Part I: Lillie II

Shadows danced around her. Warm blood mixed with cool sand. The darkness moved and she batted against it, arms flailing without strength. The lights of Iki Town in the distance burned into her eyes.

Her heart thrummed as the shapes closed in, long tendrils threatening her from the dark. She couldn’t escape; she shut her eyes tight, hoping the shadows would leave her be.

“…is her injury…” the rest of the words faded in and out. She opened her eyes at the familiar voice.

Professor Kukui kneeled over her, moonlight lighting his face. He was tearing off his labcoat and looking Lillie up and down desperately. His expression was dark. Lillie opened her mouth, the tightness in her chest worsening at the sight of him.

“Don’t be…” Lillie stretched a bloody hand up, stroking his face, leaving a long trail, “…you’re too…”

Her breath failed her. Kukui shushed her, pressing her hand back down gently. Another shape was beside him, smaller, more agitated. Kukui motioned to it and the thing bit hard into his labcoat, tearing it into two pieces.

“But…” Lillie struggled to talk. She reached for him again.

The professor pressed half the torn lab coat into her bleeding thigh. Pain shot through her, sharp and thick. She arced her back, mouth open in a silent scream, before slumping back into the sand. She whimpered, tears in her eyes, her vision foggy but her mind suddenly clear.

There were other shapes around her now. Kahuna Hala rushed past, shouting into the night. Some things – many things – scattered away into the forest, their chittering calls clicking in Lillie’s ears.

“What in god’s name were you doing down here?” Professor Kukui tied the lab coat tight around her wound. Red was already seeping through.

“I was…” Her throat clenched up. She felt warm despite the cold of the night air against her bare skin. “I was looking for…”

Professor Kukui lifted her dress. She weakly batted at him, a shocked gasp escaping her lips.

“You can’t–“

He ignored her protests as he tied the other half of his lab coat tight around her upper thigh. The cloth pressed painfully deep against her skin. The spreading redness in the bandaging above her wound slowed. Lillie looked up at him, her head swimming, as he lowered her dress again. She struggled to sit up but the professor ushered her back down again.

“Relax, Lillie,” he said. “Don’t try to move. You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

“Yes, open the gate and…” a voice in the background faded in and out, “…going to need to take her to…” her focus was fading, “…is keeping the bagon away.”

The professor leaned over her, staring into the dark sand next to her.

“Rockruff,” the professor gestured with one hand, “fetch that for me.”

A small shape from quickly and silently bounded around her, digging its nose into the sand and returning. Kukui turned an object over slowly in his hands. The waves crashed closer, just barely wetting Lillie’s right foot, the seawater stinging her injuries there. The lights in the distance were glowing brighter now, dancing to rhythms Lillie couldn’t hear.

“Where did you get this?” Professor Kukui squinted, his voice barely a whisper.

Lillie saw the wrinkles in his face and wondered if she’d ever tell him what she really thought of him. He looked down at her with a concern she’d never seen before. He was so pretty. She reached up at him again and tried to smile. She wanted to be pretty too, for him.

She couldn’t really see him now but she was sure he was there.

There was shouting, or perhaps not. It was too hard to hear.

* * *

The room rumbled around her, twisting and contorting. Her eyes were only half open. The professor kept looking at her like that. She didn’t even know what ‘that’ was. Others talked to her or around her. She couldn’t respond. Eventually the rumbling room stopped and she was carried away.

She closed her eyes again.

* * *

The machine pumped slowly for the patient in the next bed. It beeped frequently, but not too loud as to be annoying. The girl had been asleep since long before Lillie was wheeled into the room. Her breathing mask occasionally fogged up, though it was faint and infrequent.

Her hospital room was a sanitary but dull yellow-white. Pale tile made way to old cement brick walls and an unremarkable white ceiling. Wind blew through several slatted windows along the wall opposite the only door. Her bed sheets were coarse from frequent washing, as was her pillow. Somehow it didn’t bother her.

Lillie shifted so that she was sitting, careful not to disturb the plastic tubing leading to the blood bag hanging next to her. She couldn’t remember when the nurses had set her on a blood transfusion. Every fifteen minutes or so, a woman in maroon scrubs would check on her and the IV. She was an older woman that didn’t say much, her long, frayed brown hair tied back in a bun.

The wound in her thigh ached dully – a constant pain. She couldn’t remember when they stitched the bite up either. Heavy bandaging adorned both her left thigh and right foot. She lifted her gown, running a finger along the deep red band where the tourniquet had been tied. She pushed it back suddenly as the image of the professor lifting her dress filled her head.

“He was just helping me,” she asserted to no one in particular, her face suddenly hot. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Nurses came and went. The girl in the bed next to her stayed asleep.

At some point, one of the more talkative nurses mentioned how Lillie was lucky not to lose any toes on her right foot. The gashes from the bagon’s teeth were deep and long. She also explained how the bite in her left thigh had cut into her left femoral artery. If it hadn’t been for the prompt rescue by Professor Kukui and Kahuna Hala, she would have bled out and died on that beach. The nurse was very firm in telling Lillie she had to take it easy, as she could be in serious danger if she reopened her stitches.

 _Serious danger,_ the nurse had intoned heavily.

At another point, the older nurse came to remove the empty IV bag. She checked her blood pressure, oxygen levels, and her temperature and said she’d be back with more tests. Lillie looked out the window. All she could see was the bright blue sky, the wisp of a cloud drifting by.

It was closer to the afternoon when Professor Kukui finally arrived, tossing Lillie’s Master Ball up and down in his left hand. She cringed when she saw it but said nothing.

“You one tita, ah? All dem bagon had no chance.” Professor Kukui slipped into his accent easily, smiling as he sat next to her. He gestured with her Master Ball. “I found this when we picked you up at the scene. Figured I’d give it back to you.”

“Thank you.” Lillie smiled at him. A pause. “You saved my life.”

“Wasn’t just me, sistah. Was Kahuna Hala too.” He glanced about for her bag and slipped the Master Ball inside. “I would have come by earlier, but I had some things to take care of. Police needed a statement too. They’ll probably come talk to you later.”

“That’s fine.”

A long silence, but not uncomfortable. She liked it when the two of them were quiet together.

“I followed you after you left,” Professor Kukui finally said. “It was dark out and starting to rain. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t get hurt. By the time I realized you had gone down into Kala`e Bay, I…” He swallowed, then shook his head. “Auwe, sistah. Why you gotta do dat?”

“I…” Lillie pursed her lips. “I was tired of being useless.”

They were quiet again. Lillie looked away.

“Well,” Kukui smiled, “I’m just glad you’re okay. Burnet was worried sick about you when you left, and the news of what happened didn’t do her any good either!”

There was comfort in this familiarity, even though she’d only been living with him for the last few months. A memory sprang to her mind of riding in the passenger seat of his car as they drove down a long, empty stretch of road. A simple surveying job that he took her on.

Professor Kukui pressed the Master Ball into her hand.

“You know, it’s been just about twenty years since Silph Co. put the first Master Balls out on the market, ya?” The professor was talking carefully, Lillie realized. “These little things are what Team Rocket invaded them for. Oh man, it was crazy when I heard all about that. Some eleven year old genius pokemon trainer stopped them. I was just a child at the time too! Nobody could even believe it happened.”

“Yeah, Red.” Lillie had heard the story hundreds of times in her life. “He became the Champion of Kanto not long after that.”

“The youngest in history.” Kukui pointed at her. “And he was only eleven! Three years younger than you. Point is, a Master Ball is something you don’t usually see a girl your age running around with. Especially not when they’re worth, well, a lot. You also don’t see them being used to catch bagons.”

“Right.” Lillie grabbed two fistfuls of bed sheets in her hands. “I had no choice. I made a split-second decision and I…”

“Lillie.” His voice was calm, but it stopped her right in her tracks. “There was a theft reported by the Aether Foundation almost four months ago. They claimed a Master Ball was stolen, as well as a rare pokemon with important ties to their research. This was just before Burnet found you and Nebby on the beach. I didn’t think anything of it when you showed up. It would have been too coincidental. But then this…”

Lillie bit her lip.

“I don’t know what reasons you may have had for the theft…” The professor sighed and shook his head. A breeze rustled through Lillie’s hair. “How did you even get off Aether Paradise anyway? None of this makes sense.”

“I…” Lillie closed her eyes, thinking. “Lusamine, the head of Aether Foundation, she’s my mother. She isn’t who you think she is. Or, at least, she isn’t who I thought she was. I took Nebby to protect him, though evidently I have–” Lillie felt a lump catch in her throat, “–failed at that. I took the Master Ball as insurance in case Nebby got out of hand and I couldn’t control him. And…” Lillie blinked away tears, but they kept coming. She found herself devolving into a crying mess, leaning forward in bed with her head in her hands. “And it seems nothing has gone as planned.”

Professor Kukui lay a hand on her shoulder, smiling at her softly.

“Well, there is one thing for certain,” he said.

“What’s that?” Lillie looked up at him, feeling the puffiness of her cheeks.

He smirked. “You’re the proud owner of a bagon, sistah! The very same bagon that took a nice chomp outta that leg of yours. Like it or not, you’re a trainer now.”

* * *

Professor Kukui tossed her the newly repainted Master Ball. They’d swapped the color palette from purple and pink to black and blue. Anyone not looking too closely would easily mistake it for a queer-looking Heavy Ball. Or at least that was the hope.

They stood facing each other in Professor Kukui’s grassy front yard. The ocean kicked up spray into the air not too far away. A clear summer sky lighted the air around them, painting the beachfront property in a healthy, bright glow. His house was a simple one-and-a-half stories overlooking a small private beach. Its unassuming nature belied how expensive a property like this was in Alola.

Professor Burnet had long since left for her job in the city, leaving the two alone at home for the day. Lillie welcomed it. Burnet grabbed her when Lillie came home from the hospital, hugging her for a long time, but since then the Professor’s wife had barely spoken to her. Whenever they ran into each other, the older woman would purse her lips and look away, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes wrinkling slightly.

“Ahem!” Professor Kukui coughed and Lillie snapped to attention. “As I was saying, your pokemon was essentially forced into the Master Ball. He didn’t choose to be captured nor was he beaten into submission.” He gestured to his lycanroc’s pokeball. “If anything goes badly, I’ll have Rocky restrain the bagon.”

Lillie breathed deep. Her arms were trembling, the Master Ball rattling in her grip.

“Remember to be in control. Don’t let him scare you or you’ll never be able to control him.” The professor continued, “Pokemon are rational, Lillie, and like any other rational creature, they will operate at some level of logical structure. What you need to do is make the bagon believe that listening to you is within his own best interest. Focus on control first. Friendship and loyalty can come later. Even though you’ve given him a name, he’s not your friend. Not yet.”

Lillie breathed again. The wind blew lightly over them both, rustling the professor’s new lab coat. The sun was warm on her bare arms and legs. Professor Kukui looked at her expectantly and Lillie couldn’t maintain eye contact. Suddenly she was nervous standing in front of him like this. They’d gone clothing shopping to replace her the destroyed silk dress and she’d gone with short shorts and pants – her mother never would have let her wear anything above the knee, god forbid – so it was a bit of a new experience. However, when she was in shorts the fat bandage over her thigh was visible, something Lillie didn’t quite appreciate.

“Aside from some highly intelligent psychic types and a few other anomalies, pokemon cannot understand human speech,” Professor Kukui said. “They can learn _commands_ , but you would be mistaken to assume that this is the same capacity as learning language. Bagon are not on the upper end of pokemon intelligence – in fact, considering that they think throwing themselves off cliffs is some form of sport, I’d say they’re rather dumb. Loud too, god forbid. Did you notice their chirping at all when you were in Kala`e Bay? Instead of your words, focus on your body language when trying to control him. Now, I know the hospital says you shouldn’t move around too much, so don’t force yourself to do anything you can’t.”

Lillie nodded, extending her arm. With great hesitation, she pressed the Master Ball’s central button.

The ball snapped open. In a blast of white light the bagon reformed himself between the two of them. The thing staggered forward, teeth gnashing, then paused. It stared at Lillie, beady eyes wide with confusion. It swung its head to the left and the right. Then, noticing Professor Kukui, backed away from them both, growling.

He was two feet tall with pale reptilian blue skin. His eyes were beady and small, staring with hatred and uncertainty. A row of sharp teeth concluded in two massive fangs, one on each side of its mouth. Lillie swallowed when she noticed the blood still dripping from its mouth. Her blood. Legs rippling with muscle planted themselves firmly in the grass, ready to pounce.

“Remember that from the perspective of the bagon almost no time has passed. He’s confused and will start to panic.” Professor Kukui’s voice was firm yet gentle. “This is the time that you assert your dominance over the pokemon. Make him submit to you.”

“Koa!” Lillie pointed at the pokemon as she shouted his name. He recoiled, backing up a step. Lillie swallowed and stepped forward, saying his name again as loud and commanding as she could. “Koa!”

Professor Kukui nodded in approval and Lillie stepped forward again.

Koa the Bagon jumped forward, teeth bared. Lillie yelped and hesitated, backing away a step. Koa kicked up dirt, swinging his head and biting at the air. Lillie stepped away again.

“Don’t give it any ground!” She glanced quickly to the worried professor and back to the enraged bagon.

He lunged and Lillie screamed, pressing the central button on the Master Ball as she fell backwards. Koa disappeared in a cloud of light just as she hit the ground. Tears flooded her eyes and she shifted herself onto her knees, pressing both her hands flat on the ground.

“I can’t do it.”

* * *

Her Master Ball rested against the edge of the kitchen counter, leaning against the fridge. Above it, secured to the fridge with a little rockruff magnet, there was a picture of Professor Kukui and Lillie grinning in front of the Hokulani Observatory. Both of them were bundled up in thick jackets, snow lightly drifting down around them. Both of their hands were extended forward, throwing out V-signs.

Professor Kukui chattered aimlessly in the background while Lillie propped her head up on the table. She played with her half-eaten bowl of poke, pushing the cubes of spicy ahi around and mixing the sauce in with the rice and furikake. The rice was cold now.

“We could go up to North Shore to see if we can find that sharpedo nest again.” Professor Kukui was washing the dishes now. He was shirtless, his lab coat laying casually over one of the chairs, his white baseball cap on top of it. “Burnet’s colleague at the university apparently tagged a few. We could go check on them.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier just to check the GPS data?” Lillie flicked her eyes up to the professor’s back. There were a few small scars – where they came from she had no idea – and they mixed with the tone and edge of his muscle. Lillie wondered if the bite on her thigh would leave a scar. After a moment of staring she looked away, trying to ignore the hint of warmth in her cheeks.

“True, I guess,” he responded. Lillie shifted her attention from her poke to the professor’s hat. She ran one finger along the edge before flipping it over and putting it on. Strands of long blonde hair stuck out in front of her eyes and she brushed them to the side.

“Well, what about going into Hau`oli City?” The professor turned the water off. “I’ve heard a haole girl’s favorite pastime is going to Hau`oli Mall.” He turned around and paused. Lillie looked up at him and Kukui smiled. “My hat looks good on you. Why don’t you keep it?”

“I wasn’t…” Lillie looked away. “You’d say that even if it looked horrible.”

Professor Kukui laughed, drying his hands off, and whisked his lab coat off the chair.

“Put your poke in the fridge and let’s head into the city. I’ve got business to do there anyway.” Professor Kukui pulled his coat on, looking around. “We can get dinner there tonight too. I know this really good sushi place… Where are my keys?”

“Oh, they’re…” Lillie pointed just as Professor Kukui’s phone started ringing. It was the theme from _Night of the Mandibuzz_ , a creepy but corny tune. The professor looked at the phone and cocked an eyebrow.

“Kahuna Hala?” The professor shrugged and answered the phone. “Howzit braddah? Whatchu need?” Pause. “Yeah, she’s been good. Been takin’ it easy for the past two weeks so she can heal.” A longer pause. “Uh huh.” The professor’s expression changed, his smile falling and his body tensing up. Lillie straightened herself in anticipation. “Where?” A short pause. “That’s what Burnet’s colleague had been saying… about the currents, yeah. Then…” The professor nodded even though there was no reason to. “Thank you for letting me know. I’ll… Thank you.”

He hung up and closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose between two fingers.

“Professor?” Lillie stood, wringing her hands. “Professor, what’s wrong?”

“They found Luna’s body a few hours ago,” he said. “It washed up along Route 2 and was reported to the police. The mother gave it a positive identification. I… I don’t know how. After a month in the ocean, she’d be… They’re running dental records to make sure.” The professor hesitated. “There wasn’t any sign of Nebby.”

Lillie sat back down, staring at the floor.

* * *

She lay on her couch in the loft, listening to the cries of froakie in the distance as they sang their distinctive two-note calls. Somewhere in her schooling she remembered reading about them – they weren’t native, instead being brought from a far-off country by accident. In the absence of natural predators, froakie in Alola had become bold, their calls louder and more confident than their meeker cousins back home. Many Alolan natives considered them pests.

The cool night air flowed over her bare legs. She shifted, careful not to disturb her bandages too much. She wore one of Professor Kukui’s old, oversized shirts. It stretched nearly down to her knees, smelling of coffee and rockruff and him. Professor Kukui’s hat lay to the side of her pillow – she’d worn it all day.

She was comfortable. The night air was cool and the couch felt light and fluffy.

Yet she couldn’t even begin to fall asleep.

Eventually she flipped over and turned on her phone’s screen. 2:23 AM. She sighed and sat up. Quietly she slipped on some loose-fitting active shorts and climbed down to the first floor below.

The living room loomed larger in the dark. Burnet’s old grandfather clock ticked lightly in the dark, the time glowed meekly from the cable box under their TV, and a breeze floated through the screen door in the back. Lillie ran her hands along the kitchen counter, her fingers brushing the Master Ball.

“–seems unlikely.” Lillie perked up. It was the professor’s voice. She turned to the screen door and the lanai beyond. She saw him in the rocking chair, his phone pressed against his ear. Lillie padded towards him, the wrapping on her right foot lightly scraping the hardwood floor. It no longer hurt as much to walk around. She opened her mouth to speak, but he spoke first. His voice was low and quiet. “No, I understand why. However, it’s not a project to be taken lightly. With all the international backing…”

Lillie paused just inside the house. His back was to her.

“No, I get that the protestors are a problem. The mountain is sacred land to them. But this is science.” Professor Kukui sighed. “I’m sure we can make them come to reason, especially with Kahuna Hala on board now. There’s nothing up there to be destroyed by the construction work.” A pause. “Well, yes, it’s the silversword plant’s home habitat, but we can initiate conservation efforts. This project has been in the works for ten years now. The locals haven’t bothered to complain until just now. If they wanted to protest, they could have protested when the plans were put into motion. There was plenty of opportunity for them to fight back when the blueprints were delivered to the state committee.”

Lillie cocked an eyebrow, leaning against the wall to try and hear better. She knew Professor Kukui had been wrapped up in some sort of construction work on Ula`Ula Island, but she wasn’t quite sure what it was.

“Regardless, Wicke,” Lillie felt her breath catch at the name, “I’m not trying to make any waves here. The people of Ula`Ula have the right to have their voices heard. The sponsors for the Pokemon League may simply have to concede to some of their demands. If we downscale...”

Lillie gripped the ends of her shirt tight. Wicke? It couldn’t be…”

“Right, I know. The Aether Foundation’s continued support is very much appreciated,” Lillie went cold as the professor’s tone shifted and grew quieter. “Ah, right. She’s, uh, she’s recovering well. Still broken up by what happened, but getting better. She was awfully hurt by today’s news too.” A pause. Lillie felt her heart begin to pound. “No, it’s probably too early for that. From what I’ve heard from Lillie, any attempt by Lusamine to reach out to her would likely not…”

Lillie backed away, her breath becoming sharp. Lusamine? Wicke? She turned, walking quickly but quietly back to the kitchen. She snatched the Master Ball from its place on the counter.

She couldn’t hide here anymore.


	3. Part I: Gladion I

“What?” Gladion pulled the drink back from his mouth. “Since when was Team Skull interested in helping lost kids?”

“I’m more benevolent than you think.” Guzma knocked back another shot and quickly poured a fourth. His gold chains glittered in the low incandescent light of the bar.

There were several other Team Skull members here but most kept their distance, huddling around low wooden tables, talking and drinking. The low rumble of bass-heavy music rippled in the background. One particularly drunk woman was dancing badly, swinging her neon pink hair back and forth.

“Coming from the man who beats people up?” Gladion took another hesitant sip. Beer wasn’t exactly his first choice, but he had to drink something when he was out with the boss. Guzma didn’t give him the option not to.

“I swear to god,” Guzma slammed down his shot and turned around towards the rest of the Team Skull goons, “do none of you idiots listen to me!?” He growled at their shocked expressions before turning back to Gladion. “I beat people _down_.”

“Huh.” Gladion grimaced at the taste of his beverage. Foul, like old bread and bitter fruit.

“Anyway,” Guzma sighed, “she’s around your age. All these other fuckers are liable to scare the shit out of her. Last thing I want to do is make her panic and shut down before I figure out what the hell we’re gonna do with her.”

“Why didn’t you take her to the hospital when your boys picked her up?” Gladion glanced up at the bartender. Half his head was shaved, the other half left long and dyed in a myriad of neon colors, making a rainbow out of his head. One of the more flamboyant styles among Team Skull. “Didn’t you say she was messed up?”

“I considered it.” Guzma took another shot. What was that, six? “But none of the boys I trust to drop her in front of a hospital unharmed are ones I want to risk getting caught by Nanu. If I sent some of the idiot newbies, they might fuck something up.”

“What, is she that pretty?” Gladion snickered.

Guzma whirled in his stool, grabbing Gladion by his front collar. “Don’t joke about that shit, boy.” His voice was like acid. “Whoever she is, she’s a human being. The whole point of Team Skull is that we take care of our own. And I’m not risking her getting hurt by some hot blooded lowlifes.”

“ _Your_ hot blooded lowlifes.” Gladion pushed Guzma off him and turned away. He felt his muscles tense, his grip tightening around the aluminum can in front of him. “Even so, she should be taken to a hospital.”

“Doc Turner took a look at her.” Guzma threw back another shot as he settled into his seat again. “Said she was medically okay but that she can’t remember jack shit. A bit cold when they picked her up apparently, but that happens when you’re running around at night in a little white dress. Plumeria took care of her good, though. Didn’t even need to dump any drugs to make room on the boat to get her here since it’s been such a shit month.”

Gladion hung his head. It was starting to look like he didn’t have a choice about this.

“What’s her name?” he grumbled.

* * *

Gladion brushed past the two guards standing outside Guzma’s mansion. They were old regime, standing silently in standard uniform. No deviations. No colored hair or piercings either. Gladion recognized them both as members of Guzma’s own inner circle, but he couldn’t recall their names. They were men who had been with Guzma since the beginning, supposedly. The ones who helped clear out Po Town years ago.

The ones Nanu was really after.

There hadn’t been many of them around for the past two years Gladion had been in Team Skull, but more and more were popping up every day.

The inside of Guzma’s mansion was dimly lit. A few bare incandescent light bulbs were strung across the ceiling, the only source of illumination. Graffiti covered the walls – most of it old, stupid nonsense like “Kawika wuz here” or “suck deez nutz”. One of the more notorious tags was in the center of the main staircase: a massive pink spraypainted penis with an obsessive attention to minute details, like the pores or the veins running along the shaft. At some point, someone had drawn a happy face on its head. Gladion grinned as he passed it.

Her room was on the second floor, close to the staircase. It wasn’t far from his own room – Guzma seemed to like keeping his possessions close by. Gladion approached the slim girl guarding the captive’s door. She was short, with fire-red hair covered by a black cap that was just a bit too big for her. She wore the uniform underneath a thick black jacket and she’d elected for white pants instead of white shorts. They were nice. She probably stole them from a raid on a store in Malie City.

The girl was one of the newer recruits, a runaway from the ruins of Tapu Village.

“Gladion.” She grinned when she saw him. “Been a while.”

“Lei.” Gladion nodded. “How’s your salandit?”

“Sissy evolved.” Lei held up the ball holding her pokemon. “She’s a salazzle now, and she’s gotten really uppity since then.” She cocked her head at him. “What’re you… Oh! You’re the new bodyguard for the girl, right?”

“Yeah, for now.” Guzma hadn’t given him a time limit on the assignment. There was no telling how long he’d be at this.

“Sweet, well, uh,” she scratched her head, “she’s supposed to see the Doc soon. How about you go introduce yourself to her?”

“Sure.”

The interior of the room was dim the way all of Po Town was. The moon shone through an open window, illuminating a long rectangle along the floor with a bright white light and leaving the rest in a sepia tone. The prisoner girl was sitting on her bed, staring outside. One arm propped her head up, a bored expression on her face.

Gladion inhaled. He hadn’t expected her to be pretty. Long black hair ran along a slender body, her eyes pale like the moon outside. She wore one of the Team Skull uniforms, except with blue jeans instead of shorts, the clothes fitting her poorly. Her hair swayed in the breeze. A girl fished out of the ocean by Team Skull drug runners hadn’t exactly seemed the most appealing. But now that he’d seen her…

“Hi, uh,” Gladion said from the doorway. She turned to him, her stare boring into him. “I’m… I’m Gladion.”

She didn’t respond.

“Alright, well,” Lei stated, maneuvering around Gladion deftly. Gladion apologized, moving out of the doorway where he’d stood fixated. “We should get you down to the doctor’s.” Lei grabbed the captive’s hand, gently drawing the girl to her feet.

Po Town at night always made him want to walk quickly, his head down. Most of the houses would be alight with partiers until early in the morning, and more than a few drunken Team Skull members roamed the streets. Two guys were shouting at each other in someone’s lawn, a girl trying to hold back one of them. With no police supervision, the only thing keeping order was Guzma’s fist, and the last thing Guzma cared about was the occasional midnight brawl.

If anything he encouraged it.

They walked three abreast, Lei holding the captive’s hand. Gladion’s eyes darted around the town as they walked, his shoulders tense. The pale-eyed girl hadn’t said a word since they met, instead spending all her time looking around the town or staring up at the moon.

“Relax Gladion.” Lei put her other hand on his shoulder, rubbing it slightly. “Po Town’s not so bad since Plumeria took over administration. Nobody jumps anyone anymore. They cut down on drug use too. Anyone seen outside high on anything hard gets thrown in the pen now.”

“Not sure if that’s all Po Town needed to maintain order.” Gladion glared up at the Team Skull members patrolling the walls surrounding the central part of town. They were all old regime, their belts full of pokemon that were likely trained for combat. Lei’s gaze followed his. If Gladion’s suspicion was true, they’d have firearms under their jackets as well.

“Yeah, that…”Lei paused. “Honestly I’m not sure where Guzma’s getting these guys. They’re spooky as fuck, but they’re keeping the police off us for now. Nanu hasn’t been stirring anything up.”

“Guzma keeps this up and the military is gonna come down on us.” Gladion gritted his teeth. “The more we look like a small army, the less safe we are from the government.”

“Oh please.” Lei laughed, but it was a touch uncertain. “Nanu wouldn’t do that to us. He knows most of us out here are kids. You know how that guy is.”

“We’re kids with hard drugs, guns, and criminal leaders.” Gladion glanced over at the girl he was escorting. _And now human captives too._

Her gaze was fixated on the moon, not budging even slightly.

_God I hope this is a short job._

* * *

Smoke rose from Doctor Turner’s pipe, mixing with the elaborate drapery hanging from the ceiling. Try as he might, Gladion couldn’t quite pin down a theme for the many decorations adorning the room. A thick red rug lay across the floor, its designs reminiscent of the kinds he’d see in textbooks for ancient desert tribes. A long painting draped on one wall of a many armed man with the face of a donphan, a long pipe hanging from its mouth while a few of its hands were turned up in prayer. Next to where Gladion sat, a massive Johtoan fan was mounted, depicting falling cherry blossoms on its many blades.

Gladion pulled at his shirt. The small rotating fan spinning in the corner wasn’t nearly strong enough to dispel the heat in this small, cramped space. Doctor Turner leaned forward in his desk chair and the girl stared up at him from the floor. She sat cross-legged, her expression blank.

“What’s your name?” Doctor Turner asked for perhaps the fifth time that night.

“I don’t have a name,” she said again.

“Then what should we call you?”

“I don’t know yet.”

It had taken two hours just to get that out of her the first time. Gladion was surprised she even said it again.

“Where are you from?” Doctor Turner had asked this question before too. If the girl was upset or annoyed at the repeated questions, she didn’t show it. “Wait, one second,” the professor said quickly, taking another long drag from his pipe. He blew out another profuse roil of smoke and Gladion turned up his nose. “Where are you from?” he asked again.

“Somewhere dark and cold.”

Her expression didn’t change by even a millimeter as she spoke, but Gladion perked up just a bit. She hadn’t answered that question before. Doctor Turner’s dark eyebrows furrowed at the thought. He pushed his circular glasses back up his long nose and stared intently at the young girl.

“How far away is home?” the Doctor asked, smoke billowing from his nostrils. Tendrils of it snaked up above his head, curling around his long, bedraggled hair. If the girl cared about the man filling the tiny room with the pungently aromatic smoke, she didn’t show it. Gladion cared, but he held his tongue.

“Very far,” she replied. She turned her head to look straight up. “Father than the moon.”

“Where are your mother and father?” He asked. The girl stared back at him. No, she stared through him, as if he wasn’t even there.

She turned suddenly, locking eyes with Gladion. He recoiled inwardly, but still managed to scowl at her. It was a personal talent, really. Being able to scowl at people whenever he wanted to.

Her pale eyes reflected the low candle light and the corner of her mouth turned up in a smirk.

“Where are your mother and father?” she asked Gladion.

He waved his hand and looked away. “None of your business.”

“I wish it wasn’t,” the girl said, shaking her head. Gladion didn’t respond, instead shifting on his chair so he didn’t have to look at her.

For several more hours the questioning continued, until finally the night brightened into early morning. Birds chirped their morning songs and the froakie calls began to fade away. The girl was mute during most of the questioning and Gladion nodded in and out of sleep. The Doctor constantly pressed her about her history and background, getting nowhere.

The girl came from a place of darkness and cold, a place farther than the moon. It was all she’d said, though it was all nonsense. When he was awake, Gladion found himself staring at the girl often, though she never so much as glanced at him after the initial question about his parents.

She was very small and slender. Maybe a few years younger than he was, like… Gladion forced the thought from his mind, but the memory returned unbidden. The memory of a girl dancing in a field of flowers, singing at the top of her lungs, her ends of her simple white dress floating in the air around her. Vibrant green eyes stared up at him, her toothy smile shining in the morning light.

The last thing he needed were memories about _her_.

The sun had been in the sky for a while when the doctor changed his tactics. Gladion grimaced, turning over on the recliner in a vain attempt at getting more comfortable. His head dangled over one armrest, his feet over the other.

“Do you know why you’re here?” Doctor Turner asked. Gladion roused slightly at the question.

“To learn,” she responded.

“To learn what?” The doctor pressed and Gladion arced an eyebrow, confused.

The girl shivered despite the heat of the small room.

“What I need to do.” She looked away.

“Sounds like she’s nuts, doc.” Gladion sighed, turning over. Doctor Turner shushed him.

“What you need to do?” Doctor Turner asked. She nodded. “What do you need to do?”

She stared at the ground, saying nothing.

* * *

“How’d it go?”

Lei yawned in the doorway to Doctor Turner’s house. She’d changed clothes into something more casual: a maroon hoodie and dark blue jeans. Her ruffled red hair stuck out messily from under her Team Skull beret. Her green eyes looked up at him expectantly.

Gladion leaned in the doorway, the exhaustion from staying up all night seeping into him. He coughed into his black jacket, the annoyance of his unexpected overnight job not quite outweighing the relief of being finished. Outside the rain poured, muddying the main road running down the center of Po Town. Lei fit herself into the doorway with him.

“It was fucking boring,” Gladion scowled and Lei chuckled. “I just sat there for _hours_ while the Doctor asked her the same god damn questions over and over again. I don’t see how any of that was useful, and because of all that god damn smoke I’m pretty sure I’m developing a cough.”

“They’ve been doing that pretty much every night since we found her,” Lei shrugged and straightened out the front of Gladion’s jacket, zipping it up and patting down the front. Her hands rested against his chest for a long moment before she pulled them away.

“Oh god, you mean there’s going to be more of this?”

“Yup!” Lei replied brightly. “Apparently she wouldn’t say anything at all the first few sessions, but the Doctor insisted after he checked her health that she was hiding something important.”

“About her health?” Lei shrugged. “None of the questions he asked her were about her health.” Gladion rolled his eyes. “I thought he was a doctor, not a psychologist.”

“Psychologists are doctors.” Lei grinned at him. “Even so, aren’t you stoked? This is the easiest assignment Guzma could possibly have put us on. It’s so much better than trash duty or repainting walls or…”

“They’re repainting the walls?” His mind immediately went to the image of the hyper-detailed penis in Guzma’s mansion. Somehow he felt a tinge of regret that it might soon be gone.

“Mm-hmm!”

A few minutes more of idle conversation and Gladion stepped off the patio and into the muddy streets. He pulled his black hood over his head as Lei meandered inside the Doctor’s house to start her shift. The sun was rising over the walls of Po Town. Gladion rubbed his eyes and yawned.

He knew he had a bed back at the mansion to get back to, but the thought of trekking all the way back there right now rang sour. Gladion got to the main road and instead turned the opposite direction. His boots sloshed through the mud, the rain soaking through his hoodie.

After repeating the questions all night, Doctor Turner’s voice was burned into his brain.

_What’s your name?_

_What should we call you?_

_Where are you from?_

_How far away home?_

_Where are your mother and father?_

All her cryptic answers struck him as the same brand of nonsense as he’d hear from a Team Skull junkie high on drugs. God knows why Doctor Turner entertained her mindless crap.

_Do you know why you’re here?_

Gladion sighed and stuffed his hands in his jacket pocket. Null’s pokeball rattled around inside. He hadn’t let the pokemon out in a few days now. Maybe this afternoon he would, if he was even awake.

“Gladion!” A high pitched call dragged him from his thoughts. He spun about as the young girl barreled into him. Gladion yelped, nearly falling backwards as the girl latched onto his black jacket, starting up at him intensely.

For a long moment, the prisoner that Team Skull had taken stared at him silently. Gladion blushed, looking away. He would have shoved her off already, but he found himself somehow unable to respond.

“Your parents,” Gladion snapped to attention, looking back at her when she spoke, “I know them.”

Over her shoulder he could see Lei running towards them both, a confused expression on her face. Further back, on the patio, Doctor Turner watched their exchange.

“So what?” Gladion bit back at her, harsher than her intended. He pushed the girl off him and she stepped back. The ends of her jeans were brown with running through the mud. She didn’t break eye contact with him.

“My name,” she started saying. The girl gripped her fists tight, as if just saying the words was difficult. “My name is Luna.”


	4. Part I: Lillie III

Lillie hadn't bothered to change clothes before she snuck out of the professor's house. As dewy plants scraped against her thigh, soaking her bandages, she was beginning to regret that decision. She hiked through the backwoods trail that she knew would lead her to Iki Town, her sneakers kicking up dirt onto her bare legs and sticking uncomfortably to her. As much as she wiped it off, more would appear.

The moon illuminated the path ahead of her in a milky white. It mixed with the varied tones of the forest and she found herself bathed in a multitude of muted colors. Even with the professor's betrayal on her mind, she couldn't help but appreciate her surroundings.

Spinarak called out, their cries filling the lull where the froakie's song would pause. Many of the locals considered both pokemon to be pests, but Lillie appreciated the noise. Nobody would hear her even with inhabited property mere tens of feet away from the trail.

Although she was glad for them covering for her, Lillie couldn't help but glance around, checking for any wild pokemon. She gripped Koa's ball tight in her hand, even knowing it would help nothing if she released him in self-defense.

She moved slowly, careful not to strain her left leg. She could still be in danger if the wound reopened while out in the middle of nowhere. She'd had an easy two weeks to relax and heal, but the injury was still a potentially dangerous problem, even if the danger was significantly less now.

Lillie wiped her free hand yet again on the oversized shirt she was wearing. She could still smell Professor Kukui on it, but now instead of feeling warm she felt a cold dread growing in her stomach.

Wicke was Lusamine's personal aide. Her mother's personal aide. The thought gnawed at her. Why was he talking to her? Even if they'd been working together for business purposes, why would they talk about…?

No, of course it made sense. It had to. Kahuna Hala knew she was living with Professor Kukui, which meant the authorities knew. Lillie was a runaway. If Lusamine had reported her disappearance, she would have heard of Lillie's whereabouts from Kahuna Hala months ago.

"I'm so stupid," Lillie cursed, grabbing Kukui’s hat off her head. She thought of the surveying trips, the long drives in his car, the many outings to fancy restaurants, the camping trips. She couldn't bring herself to throw the hat away. She shoved it into her bag.

She passed the water reservoir, which served as the marker that the trail was ending soon. Lillie would be forced to hike up the main road into Iki Town now. She hoped nobody would notice her. If the professor or someone else found her, she wouldn't be able to run. Koa wouldn't be any help either, since the pokemon certainly wouldn't listen to her.

Briefly Lillie glanced down at her clothes. All she was wearing was the professor's old shirt and some thin pajama shorts. The night air cut through them easily. She stopped. What person in their right mind would be out walking on the side of the road in the middle of the night dressed like this? Lillie swore again, looking around. It was dark on this part of the trail and there were no houses nearby.

Lillie changed quickly and quietly into the clothes she'd stuffed into her bag. At every small sound or unusual pokemon call she'd jump and turn, then curse at her own cowardice. Once she was in a dry pair of jeans and her white hoodie, her fluttering heartbeat started to calm. She pressed Professor Kukui's hat down on her head and kept moving.

She stepped out onto the road and prayed a car wouldn't pass by.

Of course, cars did pass by. Many of them, but none of the drivers seemed particularly interested in her. With jeans and a jacket with the hood pulled over her head, she just looked like some young boy walking around in the dark. Better than them seeing a young girl.

 _Guess there is some advantage in being a stick._ Lillie smiled ruefully.

The chaotic forest covering the side of the road began to give way to ordered houses and the beginnings of a neighborhood. She checked her phone. 4:06 AM.

She hadn't waited until the professor finished his phone conversation. She had packed up her belongings as silently as she could, which really only consisted of a few sets of clothes and the Master Ball, and slipped out the front door.

As she passed near to the lanai again, one phrase stuck out to her. She mulled over the words, wondering what they meant. UB readings.

_There were UB readings the night of Luna's disappearance? That doesn't make any sense._

It was a term she'd heard often back on Aether Paradise. Lusamine had been doing something to Nebby and UB readings played a role somehow. If there was ever any proof that Kukui was in cahoots with Lusamine…

Lillie gripped her bag strap tight as she turned a corner. The bus stop was just ahead. The first bus would be running in about an hour. Once she was onboard and on her way into Hau`oli City, she'd be that much closer to her escape. She'd be on a ferry in a few hours and could disappear. An airplane would be faster, but it would inevitably ID her, making slipping away unseen impossible. The ferries, hopefully, would let her on regardless.

She sat at the empty bus stop, turning her phone screen on again. Now she had to wait.

When the bus finally arrive, the sky was starting to glow light blue.

Every time the bus stopped, Lillie would tense and duck down, fearful that someone was going to call out to her and drag her back home. It never happened, no matter how many times the bus's doors slid open. When she finally stepped off near Hau`oli Marina, she breathed a deep sigh of relief. Even at six in the morning, the ferry offices were packed with people. Boats churned the water as they sailed in and out. She turned back to the city, toward the many tall skyscrapers that seemed to dominate the sky. Further down the coast she could see the barest hints of the buildings of Iki Town nestled into the base of Ko`olau Range.

She pulled Professor Kukui's baseball hat down low over her head as she passed under a camera, and walked inside the long, low building where she could purchase ferry tickets.

It was another fifteen minutes of anxious waiting before she could get up to the counter. The woman smiled at her. Next to the check-in counter a large cut-out of a trainer with a Pikachu on his shoulder advertised some sort of deal. Lillie smiled back at the lady.

"Hello, what can I do for you today?" the clerk asked.

"Hi, uh," Lillie turned her head back to the entrance again, scanning the room for any sign of the Aether Foundation's clinical white outfits.

"Miss?" Lillie snapped her attention back to the clerk and smiled awkwardly.

"Sorry, uh, one ticket for your earliest ferry to Poni Island."

"Poni Island, huh?" The lady smiled. "Not too much out there. You going for the weekend?" The lady typed something on her computer. "That'll be 23.92."

Lillie fished for the money in her wallet. She'd made sure to take enough to survive when she fled the Aether Foundation, but now… After four months of casual spending while living with Professor Kukui, she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach when she realized how little money she had left. She put the money on the counter.

_I guess I thought I’d be with him for a while longer._

"Yeah. Just for the weekend." Lillie nodded.

"Could I see your ID please?"

Lillie froze.

"Oh, uh, um," she swallowed, "I think… I think I forgot it at home. Sorry."

She swiped her money off the counter and pivoted, walking quickly out of the building.

_Is it because I’m a kid? I didn’t have to show my ID at the ferries when I was with Professor Kukui._

7:20 AM. Lillie swore as she walked down the harbor, her hoodie pulled up over the professor's hat. She kept her head down, hoping nobody would pay attention to her. Professor Burnet would be heading into the city for her job around this time. Professor Kukui probably wouldn't notice Lillie was gone until maybe 10 or 11 when he lazily started getting up and planning out his day. It was still the weekend so the Professor didn't have to be anywhere.

She swore again. It might have been smarter to flee during a school day to give herself more time to get away. Lillie turned her phone monitor on and opened the internet browser. If she could find some sort of private ferry service that didn't require an ID…

A half hour later she put the phone down in defeat. Numerous tourists and locals alike walked past the bench where she'd planted herself, each of them in shorts and light shirts. Lillie pulled at her hoodie. She was much too overdressed for the heat, and the day was only going to get warmer.

Lillie stood, walking quickly back to the city. There was nothing she could do here.

It was three hours of pacing around downtown before Professor Kukui's name lit up on her phone. Lillie stared at it under the overhang of a grocery store entrance. If she answered the phone, she could lie and potentially buy some time. If she ignored it, he might not assume anything was wrong until later.

She let the call go to voicemail and opened her messenger app, scrolling to Professor Kukui's name.

_Sorry, can't talk now. Call you back in a bit!_

Her finger hovered over the 'Send' button. She'd structured it to be just like any other text. Lillie added a heart for extra effect and sighed. She sent the text and hurriedly shoved the phone into her pocket, her stomach tight. She'd never lied to him before.

Lillie lowered her head, stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets and walked back out into the city. If she couldn’t get off the island, then there was only one option left open for her.

* * *

It was the end of the bus line, the northernmost stop of the entire island. She stared at where the road concluded, at a large gate and tall sign boldly declaring “Route Two”. Lillie swallowed. This was one of the routes used in the Island Challenge. There would probably be trainers down there, not to mention lots of wild pokemon. She clenched her fist around Koa’s pokeball. It was a small and ineffective comfort to have it, but it helped nonetheless.

She had to disappear until she could find some other way off the island. Maybe she could steal someone’s lapras pager or charter a private boat from someone who lived out here in the sticks, or… or…

She sighed. “What choice do I have?”

Lillie pushed open the gate and paused. A small path wound between two large fields of yellowed pampas grass, their white flowering tips swaying. Further ahead a small hill rose, blocking her view of the rest of the route. The path curved up around it. Wind rushed through the grass and pulled at Lillie’s hair, whipping it around her cheeks messily, the rustling of the plants loud in her ears. If there were wild pokemon running through the brush, she had no way of knowing it.

She kept one finger on Koa’s ball as she started to walk. A brown sign stuck out from the side of the path, warning people with large, bolded letters not to litter in a national park.

The sun beat down at her, her choice of pants over shorts suddenly feeling very unwise. She’d long since discarded her hoodie, stuffing the sweaty jacket into her bag, but even in her loose tank-top she could feel the sun oppressing her. Her jeans scratched at the bandage along her inner thigh. Sweat dripped from her neck. The professor’s hat kept the sun out of her eyes, but she knew she was going to have to change into shorts soon to fight off the heat.

“I’ve got nowhere to change either.” Lillie bit her lip, scanning her surroundings.

At the top of the hill, route two opened up around her. Dense pampas grass covered the ground in massive sheets that seemed to stretch for miles. Further up the mountain, the grass faded into thick green forest, though outlying thickets were scattered amongst the sea of grass. The sun shone over the ocean behind the yellow expanse. Cliffs bordered the ocean, waves kicking up spray high into the air. In some areas the cliffs diminished into long, white beaches that glowed in the afternoon sun. A couple of houses nestled between the trees and the coast a few miles away, their bright blue ridged roofs a strong artificial contrast to the nature surrounding them.

Lillie looked about for a place she could potentially change, her eyes finally alighting on a small thicket of trees a short distance away. She wouldn’t have to crawl through pampas grass to get into it either. Lillie smiled. The trees should provide enough cover from whoever else might be out here once she was far enough from the trail.

She shouldered her bag and walked. More footprints were pressed into the dust of the road besides hers. Other trainers, perhaps, either catching pokemon or battling with each other. Lillie could hear the distant calls of pikipek and felt her stomach tighten. Pikipek by themselves were relatively harmless, but toucannon could fire seeds at the speed of bullets, effectively making them bird guns.

“Bird guns?” Lillie wondered. “Or gun birds?”

Soon trees rose around her and Lillie swallowed. Birds flitted about the trees above her, but at least the underbrush was relatively clear. She paced about until she found a suitable cover of bushes and started to pull off her pants. Cool wind blew over her bare legs as she reached for her shorts. She put one leg through…

“Pi!” A growl from the forest. A yellow burst leaping at her.

Lillie yelped, jumped, and fell – somehow all at the same time. Something bounded away into the bushes. She blushed, shorts around one ankle, and cursed. For a while she stared into the forest, anticipating the thing to come back. After a few minutes she finally started to stand, her fingers grabbing at her clothes.

“Chu!” Rustling from behind her. She turned just as a flash of yellow slammed into her head, static filling the air. Lillie let go of her shorts and screamed, her now-free hand reaching up to swat at whatever it was that was attacking her.

She grabbed a fistful of fuzzy fur and yanked it back, the small yellow and black thing staring back at her defiantly, struggling against her grip. One ear was folded under her arm, its cheeks puffing. She recognized it almost immediately.

“A pichu?” Lillie gawked at it for just a moment as the small pokemon squirmed. Its tiny legs beat the air, eyes squinting from the exertion. Her shorts lay discarded some feet away, forgotten as she stared at the captive pokemon.

“Huh,” she breathed, the air crackling around her.

The pichu screeched and glowed as it discharged a blast of electricity. Lillie grew taut as her body contorted, her mouth open but unable to scream. She let go of the pichu and the wave of energy flowing through her body stopped suddenly. Lillie doubled over, sweating profusely, groaning. The pokemon darted back into the forest. The pain subsided almost as quickly as it had come.

“He… he…” Lillie gasped. “He shocked me.”

She sat, bewildered, as the lingering tingling of electricity nipped at her arms. For a long while she stared at the shorts discarded on the ground a few feet away from her. Finally she let out a long, resigned sigh and fell backwards. Her head lay against the grass and she began to laugh.

Miles away from the city in the middle of a forest, a runaway from a home she could never go back to, no way to flee the island, no pants, and of course a wild pichu shocked her. Lillie kept laughing on the ground, the grass cool against her legs and shoulders. She was probably going to get a sunburn too, and that thought amused her even more somehow.

What a day this had been.

* * *

Eventually Lillie came to her senses and put her shorts on.

Once back out on the trail, the sun beating down hard, she realized she’d brought no water. No food either, but with her lips cracking and head sweating, the water was becoming a much more pressing concern.

It was almost an hour of walking before she stopped under the shade of a large monkeypod tree. The trail bent away from her down the coast and she rested on a rock overlooking some of the ocean cliffs. She wasn’t eagerly looking forward to continuing her hike. Maybe a mile down the road she saw a cluster of houses. She could get water there. Hopefully.

Other people had passed her on the trail, but they merely nodded at her or ignored her. Occasionally the pampas grass would rustle behind her and she would turn, expecting a wild pokemon to leap out and attack her at any moment. None ever did.

She swung her legs as she lounged on the rock. The memory of the bagon attack was in the back of her mind, but aside from the pichu that shocked her earlier, she hadn’t seen a single pokemon up close that day.

“Pokemon aren’t as aggressive as I thought they were, huh.” Lillie licked her dry lips. “At least not here.”

The pikipek calls were further now that she was away from the forest. A few wishiwashi darted through the waters below and in the far off ocean distance she thought she could see the spray of a pod of wailord.

She rolled Koa’s ball around in her hand. Lillie could still feel the bite of his fangs digging into her thigh, the spray of blood matting her hands. If the professor hadn’t rescued when he had, she’d be dead now.

Lillie glanced around at the pampas grass with some measure of trepidation. There weren’t any listed predatory pokemon in this area, but that didn’t make Route Two any less dangerous. Just because the resident yungoos and pikipek weren’t known to attack and hurt people didn’t mean they wouldn’t.

Staring at Koa’s ball, she sighed.

“You wouldn’t protect me, would you?”

“Why would you say that about your own pokemon?” Lillie jumped at the words, standing and turning around quickly. “Easy there, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

A brown skinned boy with long black hair tied back in a bun smiled at her. Lillie lowered her arms, considering him. A pokeball hung from the boy’s belt. More importantly, she saw a large bottle of water in the side pocket of his backpack. Lillie licked her lips again.

“Say…” She started, but the smiling boy cut her off.

“I’m Hau!” He stuck out his hand. Lillie hesitantly took it.

“…Lillie.”

A brief silence.

“You’ve got a pokemon!” Hau gestured at Koa’s ball. “Are you a trainer? Do you wanna battle?”

Hau’s speech was quick and excited as he bobbed up and down on the balls of his feet, both his arms out in front of him. The sight was like Kukui’s rockruff when the professor was cutting up meat for dinner. Lillie coughed.

“Well, I, uh,” Lillie scratched her cheek, “I’m not really prepared for a battle.”

“Aww, really?” Hau deflated. “My grampa was always telling me that the moment you lock eyes with a trainer, that’s it. Pokemon battle. Do you really not wanna battle?”

“I mean, I’m not really a trainer…”

“Yeah you are. You have a pokemon.”

Lillie paused for a moment, considering that. She dismissed the notion.

“Yeah, but I’m not licensed. I haven’t taken the classes or gotten certified.”

“So? You have a pokemon. You’re a trainer to me.”

“I’m not…” Lillie stamped her foot. She gave up, licking her lips for the third time. “Do you mind if I have some water? I didn’t bring any with me.”

“Sure!” Hau reached for the water bottle and passed it to her.

Lillie took long, greedy swigs of it. Before she knew it she’d emptied the entire thing. Hau laughed when he saw her suddenly despondent face. Lillie struggled to apologize, but he beat her to it.

“Don’t worry about it. I have more. You look like you need it.” Hau pointed down at the houses nestled against the coast. “You’re on the Island Challenge, right?”

“No, I’m…”

“Don’t be shy. The first trial is just down the road from here.” Lillie glanced at the cluster of houses. “My gramps said to go meet with Ilima to do it. Then he said that if I pass Ilima can give me a ride to Akala Island for the trials there!”

“R-Really?” Lillie perked up.

“Yeah, come on! I’ll show you!”

Hau took off down the road and Lillie smiled for the first time that day. Finally, a lead!


	5. Part I: Lillie IV

“Ilima is a super strong trainer,” Hau said for probably the seventh time. “He’s in college and he’s a trial captain at the same time!”

Lillie looked around at their surroundings. Meadows of pampas grass stretched into the forests covering the entire upper ranges of the mountainous terrain. The ocean crashed against cliffs to their left, but the cliffs themselves diminished into beaches further down the coast. Along the beachside, tiny distant houses sprung up from behind even tinier rock walls.

“How does he go to school when he lives all the way out here?” Lillie mumbled back.

“I dunno! Ilima is just amazing!” Hau waved his arms to accentuate that fact. “He graduated from my school before I got in, but I heard he was incredible at battling. He’s native too and Kahuna Hala says he does a great job maintaining the old ways.”

_What does that even mean?_

It wasn’t until she started this hike with Hau that she noticed exactly how exhausted she was. She’d spent the night of fleeing from Professor Kukui’s house and the morning hiking around Route Two. And she got shocked by a pichu. And now, worst of all, Hau was yammering at her relentlessly, with no signs of letting up.

_At least it’s better than home._

“You know, my grandfather gave me my first pokemon!” Hau held his only pokeball right to Lillie’s face.

“Oh?” She gently pushed his hand away.

“Yeah! She’s a popplio! I got her when I was thirteen and I’ve had her ever since!” Hau grinned. “I’ve spent two years battling and training, so feel free to ask me for any advice. I’m pretty much an expert.”

_Somehow I doubt that._

“You’re fifteen?” Lillie asked.  _You don’t act like it,_  she added in her head.

“Yup! What about you?”

“Fourteen, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“Yeah.”

He paused.

“Hey, what happened to your leg?”

Lillie sighed.

The boy continued to chatter and Lillie continued to halfheartedly respond as they hiked down the long trail. At one point Hau insisted that they stop so he could show her his popplio. Lillie hid her surprise when she saw the pokemon’s clean, groomed fur. Popplio were an endangered species, their habitat constantly put under stress by ferries or container ships or construction work on beaches. Poppy, a name Lillie was entirely unsurprised by, was honestly adorable, unlike it’s owner.

Seeing Poppy gave rise to a stirring in her chest. Nights of cuddling up on the couch with Nebby and days trying in vain to keep the stubborn little guy in her bag. A month had passed since she lost him, though it seemed like so much longer.

And, of course, when she refused to release her bagon, it led to easily fifteen minutes of the boy begging to see it.

Hau, regrettably, wasn’t quite Professor Kukui’s level of company.

Eventually they stopped at the gated entrance to one of the handful of beach-front properties. Beyond the gate she could see the dark colors of a small house pressed against the border of grass and sand. Wooden walls were sheltered by the ridged blue metal roofs so common in Alola’s rural areas. It was a quaint and small, positioned unassumingly. A meandering path lead from the front door to the gate, bordered on both sides by an overgrowth of tiny plants with budding yellow flowers. `Ilima flowers, Lillie noticed. The entire property was surrounded by a low rock wall, meant more to denote property lines than to actually keep anyone or anything out.

By the time they arrived, Hau was going on and on about how he’d only just recently learned about type differences and how Poppy was weak to electricity. Apparently the pichu in the area were giving him a rough time, continuously shocking him and his pokemon before getting away.

Lillie couldn’t help but snicker at that. Some pokemon expert.

Hau pressed his hands against the buzzer at the gate. Then again and again.

“I think that’s enough,” she said. Hau rang it again and Lillie rolled her eyes.

A few moments later the front door opened. A tall, brown-skinned young man in a vest and pristine white pants stepped out onto the path, brushing long ashen hair from his eyes. He smiled at them both, opening his arms wide as he walked towards them.

“Alola, young ones,” the man greeted them. He pressed a button on the rock wall next to the rusted gate and it slid backwards into the property slowly. “I am Ilima. How can I assist you?”

“Hi! I’m Hau!” Hau stuck out his hand eagerly. Ilima took it. “And this is Lillie. I think my grandpa phoned ahead and said I was gonna try the Island Challenge!” Hau grinned. “I challenge you to a pokemon battle, Ilima!”

The man raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“You’re awfully forward,” he said. Lillie stared at Ilima. “And what about you, young lady?”

Lillie gawked at him, unsure what to say. “Oh, uh, I mean, uh,” Lillie looked down at the ground, “I… I heard you could take people to Akala Island.”

“If you pass my trial, I’d be more than happy to.” Ilima’s voice was like velvet. “Though it’s more a formality than anything else. Wouldn’t it be faster to catch a ferry?”

Lillie shook her head.

“I… I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Lillie looked up at him. His aqua eyes locked with hers. Lillie actively tried to stop herself from blushing and she wasn’t sure it was working.

“Personal reasons, I guess.” Lillie looked away.

“Personal reasons?”

She took a deep breath. There was only one thing she could say.

“Because… because…” She might as well grin and bear it. “Because I want to start my Island Challenge too!”

* * *

Lillie rested against the tree, her legs spread out in front of her. A large water bottle – gracefully supplied by Ilima – lay on the grass nearby. The shade was very welcome considering her long morning, and Lillie smiled into the sea breeze.

Ahead, Hau and Ilima stood opposite each other. Hau was smiling confidently. Poppy stuck its pink snout up and at attention. Ilima stared back, his expression unreadable. The three had moved to the rather sizeable beach in the backyard of the house. A few trees straddled the border of the grass, their leaves rustling in the wind.

Lillie closed her eyes for a moment, wishing she could just lay down and sleep.

“Remember, I am simply testing your strength,” Ilima said, tossing an Ultra Ball up and down casually. “The real trial will take place a few miles up the mountain from here. However, if you cannot defeat me here, there is no point putting you through such danger.”

“This shouldn’t even be an issue!” Hau grinned and pointed at Ilima. “You’re going down!”

Ilima didn’t respond. He threw his Ultra Ball up again and it snapped open, a long white tendril escaping from the ball. The light condensed onto the sand in front of him. Lillie leaned forward in anticipation as the white light gathered. A long brown shape emerged, its thin body ending in a thick, tri-pointed tail.

“A yungoos?” Lillie arched an eyebrow as she spoke. “But that’s so common.”

“Yes, they are quite common,” Ilima responded, not taking his eyes off Hau and his popplio.

Lillie sighed. She couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed at Ilima’s weak showing. Hau had talked up Ilima for much of the hike down here and  _this_ was his opening pokemon? There were thousands of yungoos in Route Two alone, their annoying habits of damaging the local environment and raiding garbage making them particularly unpopular pests.

Lillie recalled from her schooling the failure of the introduction of yungoos to Alola. They were brought to hunt the rattatas, another invasive pest, which ended in embarrassing failure. Yungoos were diurnal and rattatas were nocturnal, so yungoos instead preferred to hunt other prey. Now that the pokemon was already so deeply rooted in Alola, they were proving to be very difficult to remove. They killed pikipek and other native birds, ate their eggs, and spread disease. Occasionally while out driving with the professor, she’d see the corpses of yungoos that had been run over by other locals, and she was sure at least some of those kills had been deliberate.

Lillie settled against her tree again. Hau had this battle in the bag. Popplio were much rarer.

“Alright, Poppy! Let’s start off with a Water Gun!” Hau shouted.

Poppy obliged, charging forward at the yungoos. When it closed the gap, the sea lion pokemon opened its mouth, a jet of water streaming forth. The yungoos took the blast in the face, the stream slamming into the tree just behind the mongoose pokemon. Lillie took a long swig of water and sighed.

_It’s already over._

Except it wasn’t.

The yungoos cut through the water, mouth open to display a sharp line of teeth. It clamped down hard on Poppy’s neck and thrashed about. Poppy squealed in pain as the yungoos tossed her about, slapping the seal’s body against the sand. It threw its head back and Poppy arced over its shoulder, slamming bodily into the ground.

“Poppy! Use Pound!” Hau shouted, his voice suddenly panicked.

It was no use. The yungoos didn’t let up, its grip still tight around Poppy’s neck. The sea lion pokemon screeched, a high pitched sound that grated against Lillie’s ears, as the yungoos spun quickly, ramming Poppy’s head into a tree. It slumped, unconscious, and the yungoos let go of Poppy’s neck, slithering back over to Ilima’s feet.

Lillie was standing now. She couldn’t remember when she got up. The entire exchange had lasted only a few seconds, but the match was conclusive. Ilima glanced from the yungoos to Hau, who gazed down at the two pokemon with an empty expression.

“Do you have any more pokemon to use, Hau?” Ilima asked. His expression hadn’t changed once.

“N-No,” Hau said slowly. Then, as if realizing what had just happened, the boy panicked, rushing towards his fallen pokemon. “Poppy!”

Hau cradled the unconscious sea lion. Lillie stared at Ilima in shock. His cool blue eyes surveyed the carnage of the battlefield as he bent down to scratch behind his yungoos’s ears.

“It’s your turn,” Ilima said, turning to Lillie.

“I… I…” Lillie backed away from the captain as he walked towards her. “I can’t beat you.”

“You haven’t tried.”

“I…” Lillie swallowed. “I’m not really a trainer.”

“You have a pokemon.” Ilima’s responses were clipped and curt. Behind him, Lillie could see Hau ripping open his bag, rummaging through to find medicine for his injured popplio.

“I can’t control him.” Lillie grabbed Koa’s ball off her belt, holding the disguised Master Ball up. “Just catching him nearly got me killed.”

“Then why are you here?” Ilima narrowed his eyes at her, the first time he’d changed his expression since they’d met. “This is not for beginners.”

“I…”  _Think, Lillie! This is your only shot at getting off this island!_ “I need to…”

“Well?” Ilima folded his arms, staring down at Lillie. She balled her fists, running through reasonable lies and excuses in her head.

_I only have one option._

“This bagon, Koa, is extremely dangerous. I caught him purely by accident, but I was injured badly in the process.” Lillie found herself saying the words. She didn’t hesitate when she started her lie. “I was told that you were an expert at making pokemon obey you, and I wanted your input in learning how to control him. I’d like to undergo your trial, but if I can’t then at the very least I need your help.”

Ilima didn’t immediately respond, instead considering her for a long moment. Lillie found herself unable to meet his gaze, instead looking at the sand between his feet. Her discomfort grew every second until Ilima finally spoke.

“Very well. Let’s get both of you inside. I’ll go over how this works.”

* * *

“Hau, I’m sure you’re familiar with the process, considering your grandfather.” Ilima sat at the head of the table, leaning back in his chair. He was far enough back that Lillie felt herself watching with unease, expecting him to topple over at any moment.

The inside of the small house was simple, with a main living area that consisted of a kitchen table, a sofa and an adorably tiny kitchen. The flooring was dark hardwood flooring, and the entire place seemed to smell of flowers. Ilima’s room was off to the side, the door closed tight. The bathroom and another guest room were opposite, as Ilima had explained.

“The Island Challenge had another name once. Unfortunately, as with much of Alolan history, we have lost much of what we know of it. What we can say is that for a boy to become a warrior, he must travel the islands and defeat the seven spirits. These spirits serve the Tapu as their eyes and ears while they watch over the Kanaka Maoli – the true people.”

“The true people?” Lillie asked, leaning forward in her chair. “What do you mean by that?”

“The blood of Kane, the Creator, the First. They are the native Alolans, who have been here since time began. Each boy has seven days for every one of the seven spirits. How he chooses to win is traditionally up to the challenger, be it through wits or through strength. When he has stained himself with the blood of these seven spirits then, and only then, has he become a warrior.”

Lillie nodded even though Ilima wasn’t looking at her. He stood.

“It’s our mythology, so of course it’s open to interpretation,” Ilima chuckled, “but I am very much a fan of this method of thinking: that we, as pokemon trainers, are warriors. We are skilled in using our companions as tools. While spear or sling may have satisfied our ancestors, we walk our path to adulthood with our pokemon as our weapons.”

Pokemon as weapons. Lillie bit her lip, uncertain.

“Manhood,” Lillie said, “yet I’m a girl.”

“Traditions.” Ilima shrugged. “Women are more than welcome to undertake the trials now, of course, but it was not always so. To ancient Alolans, women were strong, but they were never warriors.”

Hau sighed, burying his head in his arms. He hadn’t spoken at all since his rather one-sided loss against the trial captain. Lillie considered the boy for a moment as Ilima continued to talk.

“The way of the warrior is not an easy one,” Ilima said, “and is certainly not a painless one. You are not undergoing a safe mission in trying to complete the Island Challenge. People die every year, some from negligence and inexperience, others from foolhardiness and overconfidence. It is the responsibility of a trial captain to make sure that you are not walking to your deaths.”

_That’s dramatic… right?_

“You said we had seven days?”

“Starting tomorrow,” Ilima answered. “In accordance with tradition, you may stay here for six days while you prepare for your trial and I will advise you until then. On the sixth day you will battle me to test all that you have learned. The seventh day is the trial. If I have not deemed you worthy, then you may not venture into the Verdant Cavern.” He looked over at her. “I will help with your issues controlling your pokemon. It is my job, after all.”

Lillie nodded.

“However, you must meet me halfway, child, and I will not have my time wasted.”

* * *

_Where are you, Lillie?_

_Sorry! I forgot to tell you. I’m staying over at a friend’s house tonight!_

Lillie stared at the brief text exchange. It would buy her time for a day, but that wasn’t going to be enough. Hopefully Kukui didn’t start looking for her too soon. Outside the window, the soft sounds of ocean water crashing into the beach granted a sense of calm that she couldn’t bring herself to feel. She rolled over in bed, considering her options.

Go back. She could stay with the professor for a while, maybe enjoy her last hints of freedom. Then, inevitably, her mother would drag her back to Aether Paradise.

Turn off her phone and disappear. Without the phone there was no way for the professor to track her position, even if he reported her disappearance to the police. But then what? Was she supposed to live in the forest forever?

Do the Island Challenge. The only requirement was having a pokemon, and if she was successful it would give both an excuse and a reason to wander, which would keep her safe from Mother. The only problem is that it was the Island Challenge and Lillie was barely even a trainer.

However, no matter how she looked at the situation, she couldn’t arrive at a different conclusion. There was one path forward from here. She examined Koa’s pokeball. Next time she let him out, her blood would still be dripping from his lips. He’d probably try to attack again.

But she had to let him out.

She turned over in bed, listening to Hau’s snoring on the opposite end of the room. Ilima had stuck them in a room together – something she wasn’t exactly fond of. She slept fully clothed – the prospect of sleeping in her pajamas when there was a boy nearby was just awkward – but,  _of course_ , Hau had opted to sleeping in his boxers. She could see him spread out like a starfish, one arm and most of his blankets dangling off the side of the bed.

After Hau’s crushing defeat, the boy had been quiet for a long time. It wasn’t until Ilima finished introducing what the Island Challenge was about that Hau started talking again. Well, complaining, really, but for good reason.

_I can’t believe Ilima made us clean his house._

 Lillie groaned, rolling over in bed. A chilly breeze blew through the slatted windows and she pulled her borrowed t-shirt tighter around herself. Thankfully Ilima had allowed Lillie to use his washing machine to clean her sweaty and disgusting clothes. He’d even given her a pair of board shorts and a shirt to wear in the meantime.

 _He seems… nice, I guess._  Lillie pondered that.  _Though he was kinda scary in that battle against Hau._

The t-shirt didn’t smell like she expected Ilima to. Lillie pressed her face against the fabric, ignoring a hint of embarrassment at the idea. It smelled… girly? The clothes fit her, and were probably much too small for Ilima anyway, considering how tall he was.

 _Why would he have girl’s clothes? Especially ones that fit me._ Lillie shook the thought away. The guy probably oversaw plenty of trainers who passed through here. Of course he’d have spare clothes sitting around.

Lillie closed her eyes, letting her exhaustion get the better of her.

Somehow she had to beat this trial.

Somehow.


	6. Part I: Lillie V

“Rise, young warriors-to-be!”

The clanging of metal burst into Lillie’s ears. She startled awake, shooting up in bed in a flustered fuss. Ilima stood in the doorway, rattling a wooden spoon in a metal pot, a smug smile spread across his normally impassive face. He’d discarded his vest in favor of a button up shirt, his pants now replaced with soft-looking board shorts. He was barefoot.

“What? Fire!” Hau exploded out of the bed, eyes wide with panic, wearing just his Pikachu-themed boxers. Poppy was already out of its ball, rubbing sleep from its eyes. Hau scanned the room before his gaze settled on Ilima and Lillie. “Oh.”

Hau grabbed his bedsheets and pressed them to his chest as the racketing died down. The boy shrank onto his bed, blushing. For a moment Lillie actually felt a bit embarrassed for him. _He’s annoying enough to deserve it._

“A bright new morning!” Ilima said. Lillie glanced out the window. It was still dark!

“What time is it?” Hau grumbled.

“5 AM!” Ilima ushered them both up. “Both of you get ready. A warrior’s training starts early.”

Lillie and Hau shuffled their way around – Hau stumbling around doing _something_ and Lillie worming her way past Ilima to get to the drying machine in the corner of the living room. She pulled on her hoodie to protect against the cold of the morning. She straightened the borrowed t-shirt she was wearing, considering if it was worth changing back into her own clothes.

She reached in the dryer and pulled out her tank top and jeans from the day before, turning just as Ilima shut the door to the bathroom behind himself.

_Where am I going to change?_

She retreated back to her room, tossing her clothes and sitting on the bed with her head in her hands. She glanced at Hau as he pulled on a shirt and a pair of shorts, though she tried her absolute best to make sure he didn’t notice her doing so. He was skinny – very skinny – but she could see some musculature here and there. Not like the professor, of course. Not at all like the professor.

Eventually Ilima herded them outside where his yungoos waited patiently. Poppy bristled at the sight of the pokemon, growling and pacing around behind Hau’s feet. Even though it had been given some medicine by Ilima and Hau, Lillie had no doubt Poppy bore wounds to her pride. The yungoos paid no notice of her.

“Man, why’d you gotta wake us up so early?” Hau yawned between words, his eyes teary with sleep. Lillie said nothing, but inwardly agreed. The sky was dark blue and well on its way to early morning. Professor Kukui would have let her sleep in.

“Because we’ve got a long day ahead of us,” Ilima put his hands on his hips, “and you keiki have much to be taught. First off,” he grinned, “you two are gonna battle!”

“What?” Lillie felt her heart stop.

“Yes!” Hau pumped a fist in the air.

“But I can’t even…” Lillie gawked at Ilima. “How am I even supposed to battle him?”

“See,” Ilima was enjoying this, she just _knew_ it, “I believe that in order for one to learn how hot the fire is, their hand must first be thrust in. Being a trainer can be very rewarding, but it can be very painful. You need to know what that means.”

“I… I know pain!” Lillie stamped her foot. “This thing nearly killed me when I caught it!”

“Woah, it was that bad?” Hau asked, his face brimming with excitement. “That’s so cool!”

“No, it’s not–” Lillie stopped herself suddenly.

 _You must meet me halfway, child._ Ilima had said the night before. This was obviously what he had meant.

Lillie cursed quietly to herself, crossing her arms. “This is a waste of time, I assure you.”

“Perhaps,” Ilima shrugged, “but it is still happening. Now,” he clapped his hands together, “I have a friend who will be joining us tomorrow to help you two. She’s a very talented trainer that I’ve known for a very long time. Once she arrives, we’ll be working more one-on-one. However, until then I have both of you to deal with on my own, which means we’ll all be working together. A battle is the most logical starting point.”

He positioned Lillie and Hau opposite each other on the beach, both trainers staring at each other. More light filled the sky as morning dragged on. She couldn’t call it dark anymore, so at least there was that. Despite the growing light, a cool wind dragged over the ocean, and Lillie shivered as she clutched her white hoodie around her body.

Lillie wrung her hands as Ilima positioned them both, thinking of the blood she had seen dripping from Koa’s mouth, the hate in its beady eyes. He was less her pokemon and more her prisoner, an unwilling companion that she couldn’t even trust to keep out of stasis.

“This isn’t a good idea,” Lillie said to herself as she pulled Koa’s ball from her bag. Poppy stood at attention in front of Hau. Ilima was off to the side, his yungoos pacing about his legs.

“C’mon Lillie!” Hau gave her a thumbs up. “Let’s do this!”

Lillie breathed deep and raised her ball.

“Koa, I choose you!”

The shining white light condensed into the bagon. Dried blood ran down the left side of his face. The pokemon spun about, measuring his surroundings, taking in what was around him. He backed away towards the house where nobody stood to block his path. Ilima’s yungoos sped past Lillie, circling around Koa’s back.

Koa turned towards the yungoos, lowering his head and growling, his teeth bared. The Yungoos arced its back, hissing and batting the air with its front paw. Koa backed up to the center of the makeshift arena.

“Let him take notice of his surroundings,” Ilima said.

“Wow, he really doesn’t care about you, Lillie,” Hau observed, arms behind his head.

“Hau, attack the bagon,” Ilima said. Lillie spun towards him.

“What?” Lillie asked, but Hau was already moving.

“Go get him, Poppy!” Hau grinned, pointing at Koa. Poppy charged, opening its mouth. “Water gun!”

Poppy closed the gap quickly, reeling its head back as it approached the bagon. Koa spun, gnashing his teeth, only for a jet of water to slam into his head. The bagon reeled over, losing his footing and sliding backwards.

“Koa!” Lillie stepped towards him. The pokemon was already on his feet, glancing at Lillie before turning back to the Popplio.

“Woah, he doesn’t even look fazed,” Hau said. “Is that because he’s a dragon type?”

“Bagon will make short chirping sounds when they’re distressed,” Ilima said. “If he still isn’t fazed enough to start vocalizing, then you’re not doing enough work, Hau.”

Lillie remembered the darting shapes in the darkness of Kala`e Bay, the clicking of their tongues ringing in her ears as she lay there bleeding. But Koa himself hadn’t made any noise when he attacked her.

Koa charged, his head down and powerful legs pumping. Poppy dodged around his charge, whipping its tail around as Koa passed. Its tail slammed into the bagon’s back, knocking him off balance. He faceplanted into the sand, but immediately flipped himself around, tossing sand about as he repositioned. He charged again.

“Ilima, what’s the point?” Lillie demanded as the bagon was once again knocked to the ground. Poppy danced around him as the bagon tried to stand. It slammed her tail across Koa’s face just as he crawled to his feet, sending the pokemon back into the sand. Lillie gasped when she noticed the green bruising of skin where Poppy’s tail had struck.

“Ilima!” she called. The trial captain didn’t respond.

Koa gnashed his teeth and circled Poppy, his eyes narrow and focused. The two pokemon stared at each other for a long time, both deciding what to try next.

“Use Pound!” Hau directed excitedly. Poppy obliged, charging towards Koa.

The bagon leaned his armored head into the attack, the top of his cranium taking the full force of the strike. Koa lodged one leg into the ground and kicked out with his other one, but Poppy was too fast. It slipped under the kick, wrapping its tail around the planted leg and dragging Koa off balance.

Koa fell to the sand and Poppy immediately slammed its tail into Koa’s right eye. The bagon grunted – a quiet, pained sound – and tried to roll away, but Poppy’s tail came crashing down into his stomach. Koa squeaked, an apparently involuntary response, as the air was knocked out of his chest. He writhed for a few moments as he struggled to get back on his feet.

“Stop this!” Lillie cried out. Hau stiffened.

“That’s enough, Poppy!” Hau called. The sea lion paused, turning back to her master for just a moment. It slapped Koa again regardless and the Bagon screeched in pain. “Poppy!”

Ilima stared down at the bagon as he rose to his feet, warily examining his surroundings.

“Lillie, I believe you’ve lost.”

“Of course I have!” Lillie stepped towards Koa, only for the bagon to whip towards her, growling. She immediately froze in place, remembering the fangs in the dark digging into the flesh of her thigh, the pain and blood. Lillie swallowed as Koa stared back at her.

“He never did chirp,” Ilima sighed, “despite how badly he took those hits. Lillie,” Ilima called her attention and she briefly glanced over to him, “do you see those scars on Koa’s body?

Lillie examined him from a distance, unwilling to move closer. “Yeah,” she said. “They’re all over him.” Dark green lines etched into his skin, some brighter than others and overlaid upon each other. Koa glared at Lillie, his right eye beginning to swell. The pokemon panted heavily, occasionally shifting his attention to Hau, Poppy or Ilima.

“Koa is overcompensating,” Ilima said. “Now, I didn’t expect you to have any control over your bagon when I started this fight, so I fully expected him to lose, but I didn’t expect him to take so much punishment without complaining.”

“Huh?” Lillie arced an eyebrow at the trial captain.

“He’s afraid,” Ilima said, striding over to Koa, “but he’s even more terrified of showing that he is.”

“Wait–” Ilima walked right up to Koa quickly. The pokemon quickly jumped back, only to find Ilima’s yungoos right behind him, hissing and spitting.

“Stop it!” Lillie demanded, but again Ilima ignored her. “You’re just antagonizing him!”

“Why are you so stubborn?” Ilima said, his face merely a foot from Koa’s. Koa stared back. Lillie saw the change in the pokemon’s eyes. Panicked anger to just fear. Even if he couldn’t understand Ilima’s words, he certainly understood the intent. Ilima towered over the pokemon, close enough for the bagon to bite the captain, but Koa couldn’t bring himself to do so. The yungoos paced near his back, yipping and snarling, its back arced and fur bristled.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Ilima finally said, standing. “Even getting your bagon to listen will require some muscle. He’s very much still a wild animal.”

The trial captain finally backed away from the pokemon and Lillie let her held breath go. Koa glared at Ilima, his expression dark, the swelling on his right eye growing more and more prominent. Lillie looked over the scars on the pokemon’s body. Bite marks, hundreds of them. There were fresh ones, ones that hadn’t been given by Poppy.

“Poor thing,” Lillie said to him, but she didn’t step any closer.

* * *

_Lillie, when are you coming back?_

She read the message over and over again before turning off her phone. The entire day had been more housework, with Ilima breathing over their necks. In between cleaning the floors – much of which she’d been forced to clean the day before – Ilima would work in lessons about being a trainer. Going over what kind of legal rights minors received, reviewing type differences, or acclimating Koa to being out of his ball. While all this was going on, Koa was left to wander. Ilima’s yungoos, of course, kept a close eye on the pokemon to make sure it didn’t run off.

Occasionally Lillie would try to approach her pokemon, always staying at least five feet away. The pokemon would growl and stamp his feet, his body shaking and threatening her.

Koa sat on the beach most of the time, staring out at the cliffs further up the coast. Lillie had tentatively tried to give him medicine for his hurt eye, but the pokemon quickly scared her off. He had snapped at her hands, baring his teeth whenever she tried to get in close with a medicated cloth.

It was early afternoon when Ilima finally halted their cleaning jobs, calling everyone onto the beach.

Koa lounged near the house, his scales almost shining in the sunlight. The pokemon looked about, his serpentine green eyes taking in the beach around him, his attention especially fixed on Ilima and Lillie.

“All right,” Ilima clapped his hands together, standing in front of his two novice disciples. “We’re going to be training both pokemon and trainer on how to act and react. Remember to keep the reins on your pokemon,” he glanced at Hau, who looked away, hands behind his head, “as I’m not interested right now in battling. I’m interested in improving the control you both have over your partners. Now,” he gestured at them both, “let’s see how well your pokemon respond to basic commands.”

Lillie looked at him, uncertain. “How is he supposed to know what to do?”

Ilima shrugged. “Pokemon may not understand language, but they can guess what their trainers want them to do from context, if it’s clear enough. And,” Ilima smirked, “if they care.”

“Order your pokemon to walk towards the other trainer,” Ilima commanded, spacing Lillie and Hau out from each other. Ilima’s yungoos ran towards Koa, herding the dragon pokemon closer to Lillie until he stood a few feet from her.

Hau smirked, pointing at Lillie. Poppy looked up at her master expectantly.

“Move over there, Poppy!” The pokemon stuck its nose in the air, shuffling through the sand towards Lillie immediately. Koa stepped back, staring at Poppy intently. Lillie raised her hand, looking down at her pokemon.

“K-Koa…” The pokemon looked up at her, as if recognizing the name. Her voice was shaking, hardly assertive. “Move over there.”

Koa stared up at her, then back at Poppy, standing firmly in one spot. Ilima sighed heavily and Lillie felt a rush of heat in her cheeks. She gritted her teeth and stamped one foot, opening her mouth to speak.

“Koa!” Loud and clear now. She fought back the creeping embarrassment. “I said move over there!” She gesticulated with her finger.

Koa took a hesitant step forward, looking back and forth between Lillie and the oncoming Poppy. She waved her finger and the pokemon stepped forward again. Lillie smiled, nodding her head. Poppy growled as it moved closer and Koa froze, staring intently at the seal pokemon. It passed by Koa, their gazes locked.

“Koa!” Lillie said again, emphasizing with her finger. “Move over to Hau!”

The bagon stared at Poppy for a long while until finally moving, his feet trudging one after another. He kept his gaze fixated firmly on Poppy until the seal was several feet away before waddling over to Hau. He stopped several feet away, staring up at the trainer.

“Easy enough,” Ilima said, clapping his hands together. Lillie breathed a sigh of relief. “Now have them walk back!”

The exercises went on all morning, Ilima directing the two trainers to run through any number of simple tasks. When Koa would stop or stare at Lillie uncertainly, they’d go through the motions slowly. What Koa didn’t pick up immediately from context, he would learn from watching what Poppy did. Of course, if the two pokemon ever got within a couple feet of one another, they’d hiss and spit, baring fangs and batting the air.

At the end of a few hours, Koa could confidently be directed to move from one place to another, run, charge with his head down, and stop, among a number of other tiny commands. Lillie felt the knot in her stomach ease with every successful exercise. Koa would occasionally stop and stare, ignoring her orders, but with some prompting, the pokemon would get moving again. It often took a mixture of threats from Ilima’s yungoos or assertive commanding from Lillie, but somehow they could get him moving.

And then it was on to attacks.

“It’s easy enough,” Ilima explained, mostly to Lillie and not Hau. “Pokemon have been around for a long time, so there have been numerous trainers working with specific species for many, many years. We’ve kinda ironed out the individual abilities and capabilities of most species, including pokemon like bagon and popplio.”

“Hence moves,” Lillie nodded.

“Yes, pokemon moves,” Ilima smiled. “Archetypal commands that trainers have historically taught their pokemon that optimize the individual pokemon’s abilities. Your pokemon already know what to do – it’s not like you need to teach your bagon how to bite. Of course he already knows how to do that. You simply tell them when.”

“But you don’t use pokemon moves.” Lillie said almost immediately, before stiffening and covering her mouth, hoping Ilima hadn’t heard her.

“What makes you say that?”

Lillie wrung her hands, trying to ignore his stern pale eyes staring at her. “I… I guess… When you battled Hau and beat him yesterday, you didn’t actually give your yungoos any commands. I mean, I guess you use moves, but you don’t… say anything…” Lillie felt her words trailing off the longer she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper by the time she was done.

Ilima pondered this for a while, staring at Lillie.

“I’ll have to explain to you my methodology later,” Ilima said. He glanced over his shoulder. The sun had already begun to dip under the horizon. “It’s getting late, and your pokemon are probably more than a bit tired and annoyed from hours of training.”

Lillie nodded her assent.

“Now,” Ilima smiled, “what do you guys want for dinner?”

* * *

Lillie turned Koa’s pokeball over in hands as she lay on her bed. The night was loud with the calls of many froakie and spinarak and a gentle misty rain fell in the dark. It was chilly – why was it always chilly here? – and Lillie found herself shivering under her bedsheets just like the night before.

Koa was out of his ball the entire day and somehow he hadn’t attacked anyone. Lillie considered that thought for a moment. Was it because of Ilima having his yungoos watch the pokemon continuously? Lillie gently rubbed the bandage over her inner thigh, remembering the sharp pain as Koa’s fangs dug into her skin.

Ilima said bagons normally chirped when agitated, but Koa had been silent that night. He attacked her without any real warning. In fact, he hadn’t made any chirping or clicking sounds at all the entire day.

“I don’t understand you.” Lillie set Koa’s ball on her nightstand. Hau snored heavily in the bed across the room and Lillie sat up in bed. Somehow they had managed to coerce, threaten and bribe Koa into learning basic commands, but who said it would even stick?

Lillie stood, wrapping her hoodie around herself as a breeze rolled through. She trembled, regretting her decision to wear her pajama shorts to bed. They were of a thin fabric and didn’t even make it halfway down her thighs.

 _Here I am, a runaway in a strange man’s house, a boy sleeping in the same room as me, and I’m dressed like this. Mother would probably slap me if she knew about this._ Lillie grinned at the thought. _Good thing she’s not here to see it, then._

Gently she pushed open the door to her room, padding softly out into the living room. She saw Ilima in the kitchen, the small gas oven flaring out a ring of blue. She could smell some sort of meat cooking. Lillie quietly walked through the room, staring at his back. For just a second he looked like Professor Kukui when he slaved over the stove, cooking up feasts for Lillie and Burnet.

Ilima turned to the fridge, opening it and searching for something inside, before noticing her out of the corner of his eye.

“Ah, Lillie.” Lillie jumped and immediately started fiddling with the ends of her shirt, a sudden anxiety coursing through her. Ilima smiled at her – the same thin smile he’d used all day. “I was just finishing up cooking a snack for myself. Can’t sleep?”

“I… I think anyone would be a bit restless considering what happened today.” Lillie tugged lightly at the ends of her short pajama shorts, suddenly regretting the fact that she wore them instead of pants.

“Koa is a difficult case.” Ilima said, nodding. He turned back to his frying pan, deftly flipping the piece of meat with the flick of a wrist. “I admit I was more than a little worried he wouldn’t be trainable.”

“Is that possible?” Lillie asked. Ilima turned the heat down on his meal.

“Not all pokemon work well with humans.” Ilima responded. “Dragon types in particular. Alola is unique in that it has a sizeable population of bagon present in certain areas, but they are, well, very wild. If Koa hadn’t responded to training today, I would have already sent you home with advice on easier pokemon to train and a recommendation of good areas to release him.”

“I…” Lillie looked down. She wasn’t sure what to say.

“You are not walking an easy path, Lillie.” Ilima turned off the heat completely, grabbing a paper plate. “If you seek to learn how to train Koa with companionship and love, now would be the time to turn away. With enough work, Koa could be a valuable friend, and some trainers wish for this very thing, even though they make their pokemon fight. I find the idea hypocritical.”

Ilima whistled. Lillie jumped slightly as his yungoos came running, brushing against her ankle, its head up in the air and nostrils sniffing. The pokemon parked itself in front of its master, sitting at attention and quietly waiting. Ilima cut a piece of meat off from the rest of the chop and tossed it at his pokemon. It dug into the meal greedily.

“What’s his name?” Lillie asked, watching the mongoose pokemon nibbling on its food.

“I did not give it one,” Ilima replied. “Of my four pokemon, all of them are different species. I see no reason to give them real names when their species titles are sufficient.”

“Isn’t that a bit…” Lillie started, but stopped.

“Heartless?” Ilima paused. “It would not be the first time I have heard that said.” He slid himself into a stool near the kitchen counter and gestured for Lillie to take the other seat. She obliged hesitantly.

“And yet you were made a trial captain.”

“Indeed.” Ilima nodded. “And not just any trial captain, but the one every trainer must come to for their very first trial.”

“You… you see a lot of failures, right?” Lillie couldn’t keep her gaze level with Ilima’s. He seemed very calm, lounging with his back against the counter as he looked at Lillie. She fiddled with her shorts, _really_ regretting how short they were.

“Yes, I do.” Ilima nodded. “That bandage on your thigh,” he gestured to her thigh and Lillie immediately pressed her hands against it to hide it from view, “you got that injury when you captured Koa?” Lillie nodded. “Would you mind telling me how you managed that? Your situation is… admittedly unusual.”

“Unusual?”

“Your bagon hadn’t been released from its ball since it was caught,” Ilima said. “There was still your blood on its mouth when you first let him out today. Bagons, like nearly all dragon pokemon, are very hard to catch, not just because they live in hard-to-reach or dangerous places. They do not respond well to being captured. And that isn’t all. You don’t have another pokemon, and you’re very evasive about why you’re taking this trial.”

Lillie didn’t respond. She tugged at her hoodie, wrapping herself tight in it.

“I don’t mean to pressure you into talking, it’s just that…” Ilima sighed, “I probably would have sent you home if you didn’t seem so intent on being here. Your situation is so unusual that I can’t help but be curious. I’ve always been very interested in people.”

“Maybe I should go back to bed–” Lillie stood quickly.

“Do you mind if I can indulge myself and tell a story?” Ilima asked before she could take another step. Lillie paused. She tried to refuse, but the words caught in her throat. Lillie gripped her fists tight before turning back towards the trial captain. She shook her head and Ilima cleared his throat.

“I grew up in Hau`oli City to one of the richest Alolans in the entirety of the island chain,” Ilima started, laying his paper plate on the floor for the yungoos to eat the rest of the meal. The trainer barely touched any of it. “All my life I was surrounded by the products of that wealth. We held extravagant parties. I ate the best food. I learned from the best teachers. My life was predetermined to be successful.

“My father and grandfather both had money their whole lives, inheritors of a businessman who made himself rich off of the sugarcane industry in Alola nearly a hundred and fifty years ago. Unova was undergoing a civil war at the time and their need for sugar imports placed my great-great-grandfather at the epicenter of massive amounts of monetary gain.”

Ilima paused for a while, as if collecting his thoughts.

“His son, my great-grandfather, used this as a basis for his motivation when he, with the help of a cabal of the most influential men in Alola, overthrew the last Alolan queen. Then, seeing the potential for even greater monetary gain, the provisional government that overthrew her let itself be annexed into the Unovan Empire.”

Lillie opened her mouth to speak, but found nothing to say. She settled onto her chair again.

“The native people of Alola were furious, but after centuries of disease and cultural assimilation that came with the settlement of Unovans into our islands, they were powerless to stop them. Alola has since been under military control of the Unovan Empire in large part because of the actions of my ancestor.

“I did not understand this fully until I was a teenager and I started to learn about the bloody history of our island nation. I sought to understand my Alolan blood, and in the process I began to turn away from my father and his wealth. I rejected his excess and his legacy.

“Instead of becoming a businessman, I became a trainer. I learned as much about the old ways that I could. I joined the Alolan National Sovereignty movement in their protests against the illegal Unovan occupation of my beloved islands.

“I wanted the strength that my ancestors carried within them. I wanted the mastery of combat that pokemon tempted me with. I wanted to carve my name into the history of my people so that the sins of my forefathers could be washed from history, their names forever lost in the shadow I cast.”

“Of course, these were the foolish delusions of a child. I sought power and so I undertook the Island Challenge. And then I completed it. And now,” he gestured around himself, “I do this. Perhaps not the destiny I had envisioned for myself.”

He stopped, scooping the paper plate off the floor now that his yungoos had finished his meal. Lillie struggled to find something to say.

“Why… why are you telling me this?” she asked. Ilima smirked.

“Ever since I turned my back on my father, I felt as if I knew what the right course of action to take was. I held true to my convictions at any cost.” Ilima stood. “I chose to become a trainer. This is not an easy path, and it’s one that may one day cost me dearly, be it my life or the lives of my pokemon.” He hesitated. “And now I see a young girl before me that is here for reasons I cannot fathom, who seems determined to risk everything, and yet I cannot even begin to understand why.”

“I…”

“Lillie,” Ilima cut her off, “I almost sent you home. Something stopped me, and I’m not yet sure what it was. But I need you to understand that you are starting down a road that a little girl should not be on. You will experience pain and hardship that you cannot yet begin to fathom. The Island Challenge will forge you into steel, but it will also make you free. So I need to know: is freedom worth so much to you that you would throw away your comfort? That you would embrace the difficulties that will come? Do you _need_ to be free?”

“Yes.” Lillie stared at him, her voice steady for the first time that night. If there was anything she could answer, it was this. “Yes, I do.”

He didn’t immediately respond, but when he did, it was with a rueful smile.

“You face the fire, Lillie, and you do not yet know how much it burns.”

* * *

The clanging of pots forced her out of her dreams again. Lillie roused herself, bolting straight up in bed. Hau screeched and flailed, falling out of bed and landing with a thud on the hardwood floors. Lillie glanced out the windows – it was dark, of course. A soft giggle permeated through the room, catching both of the novice trainers’ attention.

A young girl in a black dress strode into the room, arms on her hips. Wild and dark hair was tied back in a ponytail, her gray eyes surveying them both with open amusement. She must have been around Lillie’s age. Her dress extended past her knees, flaring out at the end. Oddly enough, the article seemed almost ragged, like it was patched together from several outfits. Even so…

 _She’s cute,_ Lillie thought, swallowing. _She’s really cute._

Hau stood in his boxers, laughing awkwardly at her. If the new girl cared about his near-nakedness, she didn’t show it. Lillie clutched her white hoodie close around the clothes she’d borrowed from Ilima, shivering in the early morning cold.

“Hi there! Ilima called me here to help both of you not suck at being trainers!” The pretty girl beamed at them both, brushing a long strand of hair out of her eyes. “My name’s Acerola!”


	7. Part I: Acerola I

****Mist hung low over the ground, the air still and calm. Dew clinging to the short grass lining the pathway brushed her socks and shoes. The moon lay low on the horizon waiting for the sun to rise. Dark blue skies dotted with the remnants of early morning stars hung over the land. In the absence of the wind, the whole world had become like a painting overnight.

It was her favorite sort of morning, when the entire island felt empty. Hau`oli City had been deathly quiet when she passed through earlier. That was the perk of a late night ferry ride: landing in the early hours of morning, when the black of night still engulfed Alola’s capital. The tourist centers and red light district would have been very active, but she steered far away from there.

She brushed her black hair back with her hands, wrapping it up into a ponytail.

“Maybe I should dye it purple again?” she wondered to herself. Ilima had always told her she looked good with purple hair.

The hike was shorter than she remembered, even traveling this early. Or maybe because it was so early. There were no trainers out at this time – those that had opted to camp in the wilderness were all sleeping soundly in their tents about now. Nevertheless, her feet were sore by the time she was running her hands along that familiar rock wall.

“He’s still got that spooky rusted gate.” She snickered, flicking the dull iron with one finger. It rang out softly in protest.

“It’s too expensive to replace,” a voice called from behind. She jumped, gasping in shock, and turned. Ilima hovered about at the opposite side of the dirt road, nearly hidden from view by the tall monkeypod tree.

“Damn it, Ilima,” she coughed out, her heartbeat fluttering as she calmed herself down. “Of course you’d try something like that.”

“It’s fun.” Ilima smirked at her. “Welcome back to my home, Acerola.”

Acerola huffed, turning her head in mock anger.

The anger was quickly replaced with a sudden reluctance. She looked over the small property. The house hadn’t changed a bit, with the same old grassy walkway leading up to a quaint little door. Ilima ushered her inside, his footsteps beside hers bringing more memories to mind than she wanted to deal with.

When she stepped inside the house she felt like time itself had stopped. The small kitchen took up one corner and the bookshelf took up another, just like they always had. The couch where she usually crashed was pushed against one wall now, a small coffee table that she’d never seen before in front of it. Made the room seem larger, but also a bit emptier. The same little old washer and dryer sat idly in one corner.

 _Two years is a long time,_ Acerola thought to herself as she slipped off her black sneakers, the odd feeling in her stomach nesting itself there. _Maybe I should have come back earlier._

She walked over to Ilima’s room and peered inside. She smiled a bemused smile. Its layout hadn’t changed in the slightest: white and brown floral print curtains and plain white bedsheets. He still had the jacket she’d given him years ago, though now it was well worn. It hung over the back of his desk chair.

Acerola ran a hand over his desk, her fingers brushing a picture frame. She picked it up, examining it. It was Ilima and a small group of people she didn’t recognize, all of them smiling and laughing – even Ilima. They were at some beach she didn’t recognize and the picture looked fairly recent.

“Good for him,” Acerola said to herself, smiling softly.

Behind her, the light rattle of pots and pans grabbed her attention. She walked back into the living room as Ilima rummaged through a cupboard. Acerola found herself grinning as she struggled back the beginnings of a laugh.

“Are you serious?” Acerola chuckled as quietly as she could when Ilima pulled out a deep metal pan and a wooden spoon. “You still do that?”

“Never stopped,” Ilima said, winking at her.

“You are literally a horrible person.” Acerola punched him lightly in the arm.

“I did it yesterday but I still think they’re not expecting it,” Ilima whispered back. “The boy, Hau, he’s gonna fall off the bed. Just watch. It’s gonna be _hilarious_.”

“This is the real reason you’re the first captain.” Acerola padded after him.

“They face the fire,” Ilima grinned at her as he opened the door, quietly tip-toeing into the room, “but neither of them know how much it burns.”

Acerola rolled her eyes and stepped after him.

The loud clanging of the wooden spoon in the wide metal pan echoed through the room, shattering the peaceful quiet of the early morning. The boy flipped out, arms and legs flailing everywhere. Just like Ilima said, the boy fell right off the bed, landing on the hardwood floors with a solid thud. He shouted something incomprehensible.

The girl’s reaction was much more muted. She shot up in bed, staring at them with wide, jade eyes.

Acerola laughed, clutching her stomach as the chaos unfolded. Ilima stood tall and proud, ignoring the carnage Hau caused as the boy struggled to get to his feet, but even the normally stoic captain was holding back a heavily bemused smile. Eventually Hau stood at attention – in only his boxers, of course – and the girl clutched her jacket around her frail body to fend off the cold.

 _She’s very pretty,_ Acerola thought to herself.

“Hi there! Ilima called me here to help both of you not suck at being trainers!” She gave them her best smile, brushing some hair out of her eyes. “My name’s Acerola!”

* * *

“Hurry up already!” Acerola demanded, legs swinging while she sat on the kitchen stool.

“I can’t make it cook faster!” Ilima threw his hands up, an exasperated gesture. Acerola laughed, her hands gripping the seat between her legs. It had been so long since she’d harassed him like this. She’d forgotten how easy it was.

“You have to try harder, Ilima!” She ribbed at him. “You need to want it! You have to make sacrifices!”

Ilima growled back at her.

Hau was lounging over the sofa, his popplio playing with his hands lazily. Lillie kneeled in front of her bagon, hesitantly holding out a piece of raw meat in front of it. It backed away from her, growling, until mustering the courage to reach out and nip at it. Lille yelped, dropping the meat, and the bagon whipped it off the floor, retreating to eat.

 _Oh boy,_ Acerola mused, _they might be a bit of work._

“Hey what’s for breakfast?” Hau demanded, petting his popplio with one limp hand. He scratched behind the pokemon’s ears and Poppy closed its eyes. It curled its body, batting at him with its tail.

“You’ll find out!” Ilima called back in frustration.

She stared at Ilima’s back as he labored over the oven, remembering all the times he’d cooked for her. A feeling crawled her way through her stomach, the edges of it strained. In the back of her mind the memories seemed to sting.

Maybe the weird feeling was nostalgia.

Maybe.

 _I didn’t think I’d be back,_ Acerola thought, swinging herself off the stool. _I didn’t expect him to want my help._

It wasn’t like she was doing much back home. Watching Hunter and the other kids at the Aether House was how she spent most of her days now. Even so, when Ilima’s name lit up on her phone back on Ula`Ula Island, she almost let it go to voicemail.

Lillie sat cross-legged on the floor, staring at Koa as the bagon chewed on his treat. The girl seemed almost sad, slumping her shoulders and wringing her wrists. She wore board shorts and a loose t-shirt that she kept fiddling with, the clothes oddly familiar. Lillie grabbed the white baseball hat off of her head, worrying away at its edges. She seemed very small, weak.

Despite that, there was something elegant about her. Maybe it was the way her bright blonde hair shone in the morning sun, or how her clear green eyes welled up with uncertainty every time she stared at her pokemon. When she moved, every action felt deliberate. When she spoke, it was like each word was considered carefully.

Acerola grinned. She was like a modern day princess.

_Girls like that don’t last long._

Hau, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. As soon as he realized that he wasn’t going outside to do work for Ilima immediately, he’d collapsed onto the sofa, complaining about this and that. His dark hair was wild and untamed, falling over the pillow he rested his head against. He’d managed to get dressed since Ilima’s little prank, so that was fortunate. Even so, his shirt was riding up, exposing a stomach that the boy scratched at casually. His popplio fidgeted, grooming itself constantly even as Hau continued to muss up its fur.

Aerola turned around. Ilima flipped the eggs in the frying pan effortlessly as she walked up behind him. She gently laid a hand on his back, leaning in and speaking quietly.

“I want to work with Lillie,” she whispered.

“Any particular reason why?” Ilima asked as he fiddled with the breakfast pans, cracking open two more eggs.

“Because I think Hau is the only one who can handle your crap.” Acerola smirked at him and Ilima rolled his eyes. She watched Lillie from across the room, the girl’s attention fixated on the obviously disobedient bagon.

“She’s arguably the one that needs more work,” Ilima whispered. “Her bagon responds to commands only half the time, and even then he needs to be pushed and prodded. It also apparently has a dangerous streak.”

“The bandage on her leg?”

“Right.”

“If we can’t train her bagon, we could get her another pokemon,” Acerola mused. She leaned back against the kitchen counter, conscious of the fact she was merely a foot away from Ilima. She deliberately ignored the instinct to pull away from him. “Something easy to train, like a pikipek or a growlithe.”

“If we have to help her catch pokemon, she shouldn’t even be here.” Ilima sighed. “And besides, I had a hard time with my pikipek.” Ilima shot her a look. Acerola grinned. “Even now he’s a bit ridiculous sometimes.”

“That’s because you’re always running around with that stupid yungoos.” Acerola watched the little pokemon scamper over to Koa, hissing and snarling at the dragon. Koa, to his credit, didn’t back away, instead baring his fangs. “Aren’t bagon supposed to make clicking sounds when they’re agitated?”

“Right?” Ilima slid the eggs off the frying pan, cracking open two more. “I’ve never heard of a quiet bagon before. Might be because he’s the runt of the litter.”

“He’s a runt?”

Ilima turned to the girl sitting cross-legged on the ground. Lillie glanced up at them, then blushed and quickly looked away. Acerola smiled at that. _She’s shy. Adorable._ Ilima didn’t seem to notice or care. He pointed at the bagon.

“See the scars on his body?” Ilima gestured and Acerola nodded. “Bite marks from other bagon. Usually the only injuries they have at that age are head wounds from leaping off cliffs. Koa was bullied by his siblings, which means he was likely the runt. Maybe it also has to do with him not making those clicking noises.”

“Improper socialization due to an inability to communicate?” Acerola giggled, reaching a hand up and flicking Ilima’s nose. The man recoiled, his expression horrified. “You’re so smart, Ilima!”

“It’s not like–”

“Also,” Acerola cut him off, “why is she wearing my old clothes?”

* * *

Acerola stared at Lillie’s t-shirt from across the kitchen table. Hau had wolfed down his food and was now chattering on and on about Kahuna Hala while Ilima listened absentmindedly. Lillie, however, barely touched her food. The girl fiddled with her rice, her expression downcast.

 _That is definitely my shirt._ Acerola remembered leaving clothes here two years ago, but she didn’t realize she’d left one of her favorites! It was grey with a very stylized pokeball soaring through the air. _Why is she wearing it?_

Ilima hadn’t really given her an answer, instead changing the subject quickly when Acerola had brought it up. _They can’t be… together, right? Is that why he’s working with such an inexperienced trainer?_

Acerola sighed, pushing her plate away. She shot a nasty glare to Ilima and he coughed, interrupting Hau.

“So this is how today is going to work,” Ilima started. “Yesterday we did basic maneuvering and commands training, mainly so that I could see where you two are at. Hau, you’re going to work with me on battle training here at the house.”

“All right!” Hau shot a fist in the air, his grin stretching across his entire face.

“Lillie, you’ll be with Acerola on…” Ilima arched an eyebrow and Acerola smiled, “…whatever she has planned for you. I’ll leave it up to her judgment.”

“R-Really?” Lillie looked from Ilima to Acerola, wringing her hands.

_Disappointed she’s not working with her boy?_

“Acerola’s very competent,” Ilima assured the girl.

* * *

“ _Acerola_ _’s_ _very competent_ ,” Acerola mocked Ilima’s voice as she sauntered down the beaten dirt path. Lillie trudged along beside her, boring holes into the ground with her gaze. The sun shone on them both, the air warm and humid.

The girl had barely spoken a word since breakfast. Well, really the whole day. Acerola stepped past her a few paces, turning to look at the novice trainer. Lillie glanced up at Acerola, expecting some sort of comment. When Acerola didn’t immediately give her one, the girl wrung her hands and looked away.

Acerola paused, examining her. She was slender, so much so that she looked like the breeze could knock her over. Obviously very young, but pretty. If Ilima was gunning for her, it wouldn’t come as a surprise, really, though the age difference would be scandalous. Her meek demeanor left a lot to be desired, though. Maybe Ilima liked that in girls, though Acerola would never have guessed it. Lillie wasn’t Alolan, but maybe Ilima had moved past that particular fixation?

_She’s wearing my clothes._

Board shorts and that grey t-shirt. Great for the weather perhaps – much better than the hoodie Lillie was sporting earlier – but even that didn’t quite excuse the clothes.

 _I_ _lima gave her those._

Her initial impression still held. She was like a princess, frail and shy, meant to be looked at and appreciated. The thought nearly made Acerola gag. She spun about on one foot, stepping back down the trail. Lillie quickly followed after her, still silent.

“We’re gonna try to get you a new pokemon today, Lillie,” Acerola called back. “While your bagon is certainly going to be our focus while you’re staying with Ilima, you will need to get some real trainer experience.”

“R-Right.”

Acerola went quiet. Lillie maintained her pace a few steps behind, as if refusing even the attempt of making conversation. To their right, the ocean was shining, fading from a bright turquois into a deep blue as the water stretched further away. Waves crashed up and over the rocks of the cliffs, shooting spray into the air.

“Your bagon,” Acerola said, stopping. Lillie promptly froze in her tracks. She glanced to Acerola then immediately looked away. “Why don’t you let it out?”

“It’s… it’s dangerous.” A very unconfident refusal.

“I won’t let it attack you.” Acerola put her hands on her hips. “And didn’t Ilima work with you already on controlling him?”

“But if Ilima isn’t around, how am I supposed to make sure he doesn’t cause trouble?”

_This is the girl trying to undergo the trials?_

“I guess I can’t force you,” Acerola said, spinning back around.

“Wait!” Acerola glanced back at the girl, who finally met her eyes, her gaze level. “I’ll let him out. I just… I just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Acerola shrugged. “You take control. He’s only two feet tall.”

“A…Alright.” Lillie fumbled with the ball at her belt. “Koa! I choose you!”

“You don’t need to say that every time,” Acerola quipped, and the blonde girl went red in the face, her hand stopping short of releasing her bagon. “Wait, sorry, go ahead and release him. I’m just being a jerk.”

Lillie nodded, clicking the center button. Koa appeared on a rock in between the two girls, an annoyed expression on his face. At least he wasn’t growling anymore. The pokemon looked back and forth among the two girls before plodding off towards the cliff looking out over the ocean. The two girls watched the pokemon as it walked towards the water.

“Bagons like cliffs, don’t they?” Lillie asked, turning to Acerola. “I think I read something about that before.”

“Yeah…” Acerola furrowed her brows, then a sudden seize of panic. “Wait! Return him to your ball! Bagons jump off cliffs!”

Koa stopped at the edge, peering over. Lillie panicked, fumbling with her pokeball, struggling to press the center button again to return him. Acerola stared at Koa, expecting the pokemon to disappear over the side at any second. After a long, long moment, Koa turned around, walking towards them.

“Here!” Lillie looked up again, her ball at the ready. She stopped, noticing Koa casually strolling back.

“I guess he doesn’t feel like jumping.” Acerola sighed, her words crisp and sharp. “Crisis averted. Return him to his ball anyway, please. We’ll worry about him later.”

Acerola frowned at Lillie. The girl stood over her bagon, the two locking eyes for a long moment. Eventually, Lillie pressed the central button on the pokeball and Koa disappeared into a red mist.

_Lillie takes this seriously, at least._

“A… Acerola?” Almost too quiet to hear.

“Hm?”

“Do… do you not like me?” Lillie said.

Acerola stopped, reexamining the skinny girl standing in front of her. She was wringing her hands heavily, like even asking the question had been a harrowing experience for her. Acerola bit her lip, a surge of guilt running through her.

“I… It’s not like that.” Acerola chuckled uneasily. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to give you that impression. Here,” Acerola slapped the girl on the back and she yelped in surprise, “I’ve got the perfect idea of where we’re gonna get your new pokemon. C’mon!”


	8. Part I: Gladion II

Gladion rested his head in his hands, staring at Luna as she rummaged through Guzma’s flower bed. The girl had insisted on spending most of her time here in the small garden. Luckily it was off to the side of the mansion; the traffic of Team Skull grunts couldn’t see her from the road, making Gladion’s guard duty that much easier. Luna attracted enough attention as it were.

At first it was amusing to watch her crouch in the dirt, mucking up her blue jeans and the Team Skull hoodie she was given. Her hands were green from rummaging through the leaves, her elbows and knees brown with dirt. But then the minutes dragged to hours, until the sun was dipping behind the wall. She spent the entire afternoon picking through weeds, uprooting them, tending to dry or dying flowers, or moving plants that were exposed to too much or too little rain.

It would have been more tolerable if he wasn’t so tired – the couple hours of sleep he’d gotten just wasn’t enough. The girl was entirely intent on her task. Whether she’d slept or not after her nights of interrogation he didn’t know, but she was full of energy and it was exhausting.

“How old do you think she is?”

Gladion turned as Lei walked back over to him, talking around a piece of jerky. She tore at it, chewing with her mouth open.

“Around your age, at least,” Gladion sighed, “though she acts a lot younger.”

“Think she’s retarded?” Lei asked, munching on her jerky.

“Dunno.”

Gladion had watched Luna just an hour before as she erected a stake with spare wood, tying a drooping plant to it to keep it upright. At another end of the garden, she’d erected a mesh out of twine and sticks to allow for a vining plant to grow properly.

Luna wiped sweat off her forehead, leaving a line of dirt. Lei and Gladion sat in silence for a while longer watching her before Gladion finally stood. The sun’s dying rays reached over Po Town’s walls, a chilly wind blowing through him.

“I’ll be back,” Gladion said to Lei. “I’m getting some water.”

He quickly rounded the corner of Guzma’s mansion, eyes on the ground. Po Town had been quiet today, as it had been for the last few days. Back when he joined the organization it was much more chaotic – crimes being planned constantly, Guzma always giving speeches, new recruits being brought in and shown the ropes. Nowadays Po Town was calm, at least relatively. The same houses beat out loud EDM music late into the night, the same lowlifes wandered the streets on the same drugs.

Except now there were massive walls surrounding the center of Po Town, patrolled by men with automatic rifles.

Gladion glanced at the two guards standing in the doorway of Guzma’s mansion and nearly froze. He recognized the two of them: Kaipo and Yuri. More of Guzma’s old regime, the ones who had been part of the organization in the beginning. One guard glanced at him, the other fully fixated on the road leading into Po Town. Both carried weapons.

Kaipo was a locally born man, big and muscular, with a clean shaven face and a buzzcut. A large knife hung next to a single pokeball on his waist band – a mightyena that was fully outfitted with combat armor. Gladion had only seen it once when it ran down and shredded a gumshoos for Guzma’s entertainment.

Yuri was a pale man, slender and relatively short. A full assortment of pokeballs were strapped to his waist, as were several pistols and knives. His long blond hair was tied back in a ponytail. Gladion had never heard the man speak.

These were the type of people showing up again in Team Skull. He’d heard rumors that there had been more men like that years ago. They were the ones to conquer Po Town, after all. But they’d been long gone, at least since Gladion joined. As much as Guzma loved to ramble about the “good ol’ days”, the days of Team Skull being a force of professional criminals was long gone.

Supposedly.

Gladion passed by them both, careful not to give them cause to mess with him.

Inside the mansion, in a long, elaborate kitchen filled with moldy baseboards and numerous cobwebs, he opened up one of the fridges and grabbed a bottle of water. The plumbing still worked, but there was no telling what would be in the tap water here. Gladion glanced at an open door at the far end. He could just barely see the long table where Guzma held his poker nights.

Gladion leaned out a window, sipping on his water. He could see into the meadow where Luna worked in the soil. Lei was watching from the benches, her red hair a mess of fire. Luna seemed so small from here, her thin shoulders hunched over a cluster of flowers she was weeding in. She uprooted one and bit down on the stalk. Gladion saw Lei get up, a confused look on her face.

“Hope it’s not poisonous.” Gladion shrugged, moving away from the window, pressing the cool water bottle against his sweaty forehead.

Back in the meadow, Gladion settled back into his spot on the bench next to Lei. They chatted for a while as Luna wandered about the meadow, stabilizing plants here, weeding there. When the sky started to turn purple and the earliest hints of stars began to show, Lei said her farewells and ended her shift, leaving Gladion for his nightly watch.

It was only a few hours more until midnight and he could pass her off to another guard. He nestled against the wall, wondering when he should start trying to pry Luna away from her plants.

“Hey, Null,” Gladion lifted the pokeball and pressed the central button, “Why don’t you get some air too?”

The massive chimera pokemon materialized onto the pathway in front of him. Null glanced about itself before stretching, lowering the front half of its body down low enough for its elbows to touch the ground, and then rocking back upwards with its neck raised. Straightening itself, Null scratched at the underside of its helmet before wandering along the side of the meadow, careful not to step on any plants.

He was a heavy creature and tall, with powerful muscle hiding under black fur. Its head was entirely encased in a heavy metal mask. Gladion had tried and tried to remove the construct, but to no avail. It didn’t seem to inconvenience the pokemon in any noticeable way, though it could hardly be comfortable.

Luna stared at the large pokemon and it stared back – its head was easily a foot higher than hers – then she casually strode around it. She paused where Gladion was sitting, looking down at him and tilting her head.

“What do you want?” Gladion growled.

“You look angry,” she said. Null shook mightily, kicking up some dirt. The girl turned back to the pokemon for just a moment.

“I’m not angry,” Gladion protested.

“Then why are you frowning?” Luna poked at his cheek, turning up one end of his mouth. Gladion brushed her hand away.

“I’m not angry,” he said again.

She stared him a while, her pale eyes locking with his. Her dark hair fell across her face in just the right way. Eventually, unable to maintain eye contact with her, he looked away, embarrassed. Behind her, he could see Null looking at him. The pokemon snorted and turned away.

“I win,” she said, smirking and twirling about.

Gladion growled and she laughed.

“Wait,” Gladion said quickly. She paused. “What were you doing when Guzma’s goons found you? Where are you from?”

“A long way away, I guess.” She traipsed back to the flowers.

“Why is your home so far away? Can you go back?”

The girl stopped and looked up at the sky. She stretched out one arm and held it for a long moment.

“The little starry one called to me,” she said, “and I followed.”

The girl walked back into the meadow.

* * *

Not long after Gladion had to finally pry Luna way from her plants. She protested and complained but eventually complied, following Gladion up into the mansion. The sky had grown dark and cold, and the parties were flaring up out in the town. Quiet men wandered the halls of Guzma’s mansion, occasionally tossing long glares after Luna as she passed by. Gladion would stare at them until they lost interest and walked away.

Luna herself seemed oblivious to her situation. Any girl in her right mind would be able to tell that this was not exactly a conclave of monks running around in uniform. It would have been obvious that something fishy was going on. And yet…

“They’re as tall as Null is!” Luna pointed at one of the black-uniformed guards standing at the end of a long hallway. If the man noticed, his grim expression certainly didn’t reveal so.

“Stop that!” Gladion hissed, pulling Luna back out of the hallway and into the main hall. “Just keep your head down and stay out of everyone’s way.”

“Huh? Why?”

 _I’m a baby sitter…_ Gladion resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Guzma was only having him take care of her because he was too lazy to do so himself.

“Just come with me.” Gladion grabbed her arm, nearly having to drag her up the stairs towards her room. Once there, he threw the heavy wood open and pushed her inside. “Stay in there and go to bed, okay?”

Luna folded her arms. “Why?”

“Because I said so.” Gladion could feel the beginning of a headache coming along. It _could_ be because of his lack of sleep, but somehow he doubted that.

“That’s not a good reason.” Luna complained. Gladion sighed. He looked around, checking to see if anyone was watching him, and pushed past her, closing the door to her room behind him. She stared at him defiantly, waiting for him to offer up a better reason.

“Do you, like, not understand the situation you’re in right now?” Gladion asked, exasperated. “Can you not see what’s going on around you?”

“I dunno what you mean.” Luna shook her head.

“Where do you think you are right now?” Gladion growled the words out, annoyance biting at the edges of his tone. “You’re at the hideout of a _criminal organization_ , living as a captive in the mansion of Alola’s equivalent of a _crime lord_. How the hell are you so relaxed?”

“Because.” Luna shrugged.

Gladion found he had no immediate response. His jaw hung open for a moment, useless, as he tried to collect his thoughts.

“Criminal organization,” Gladion finally sputtered some words out, “crime lord, and you’re a captive. And you have _nothing to be worried about_?” She nodded. “You’re hopeless or you’re fucking nuts. I can’t honestly tell which.”

Gladion sighed, pausing for a long time.

“What I know, Luna,” Gladion started, staring straight into her pale eyes, “is that this isn’t some vacation. You’re stuck here. There’s no going home. There’s no seeing your friends again. You’re a prisoner. Unless Guzma magically decides he no longer wants to keep you around here – and trust me, the Guzma I know would definitely not just let some girl wander off to talk about his organization – then you’re going to be here for a long time.”

Luna shrugged, completely disaffected by the argument. She smiled at him, though it quickly turned a bit sad. She looked at him straight in the eye as she spoke. “Honestly, I’m more worried about you.”

* * *

“Yeah, thanks man.” Gladion yawned as the Team Skull member came to relieve him from guard duty. The new guard took his station by the door and Gladion trudged slowly back to his room, welcoming sleep.

The rest of the shift had been mindless wall-staring. Exhausted by Luna’s idiotic sense of invulnerability, Gladion had retreated outside of her room, leaning against her door for several exhilarating hours. When the replacement guard finally dragged his fat, dumb ass up the stairs to relieve Gladion of his position, exhaustion was tearing at the edges of Gladion’s vision.

“Been a long time since I had a regular sleep schedule...” Gladion mumbled under his breath.

He threw open his door and slid out of his black jacket, throwing it on the lone chair in the room. Outside his window he could hear the ambient froakie calls piled one after another: froa-kie, froa-kie, froa-kie. Two notes, the second call a higher tone than the first. Over and over and over the frogs sang, hundreds piled on top of one another.

Gladion collapsed onto his bed, grateful for his chance to sleep.

Immediately all tiredness seemed to leave his body.

He was wide awake.

Cursing in annoyance, he turned over. When he was standing guard outside Luna’s room he’d been completely worn down!

_This always fucking happens._

Luna. It had been an odd time today watching her, from staying up all night listening to her getting drilled with questions by the doctor to watching over her while she fixed a neglected flower patch. And then there was the brief argument in her room. She was quiet, speaking in short and clipped phrases, but she smiled often and widely.

 _She’s cute,_ Gladion admitted to himself, _though she’s an idiot._

Not that it mattered. She was a prisoner. He recalled her little staring contest, her triumphant ‘I win’ when he finally looked away. Her face had been so close to his.

It was another hour of unhappy tossing and turning about before he turned on his phone screen. 1:23 AM. Gladion groaned and dragged himself out of bed. Maybe it was hunger. The boy threw on his jacket again and started the long journey down to the kitchen.

There were still a few pastries sitting in Guzma’s personal fridge, leftovers from a small party a week ago. Guzma had been having a lot of these small, excited get-togethers with his senior officers lately. Lord knows what the man was celebrating. He snagged a donut, figuring Guzma wouldn’t notice. Light glowed under a closed door on the opposite end of the kitchen.

“FUCKING SHIT!” Gladion jumped, spinning towards the door. Shadows moved around under the doorframe and voices shifted from dull mumbling to vibrant chatter. He recognized a few of them. Kaipo was there, as was Guzma himself.

“Get fucking shit on, mate!” Guzma cackled. Gladion let out a sigh. It was just a poker game or something. “Aww shit, don’t give me that you greedy fuck. You’ll get your money back once we sell off the Faller.”

_What?_

“I’d rather be stealing your money now, you fuck,” Kaipo retorted. Some of the others laughed. “Don’t know how Lusamine puts up with your shit.”

 _Lusamine?_ Gladion crept closer to the door.

“Cuz she’s hungry for some cock, brah,” another voice called. “Why else do we get those deals?”

“The mighty Guzma? Getting action from a high-class bitch? Please.” Kaipo sputtered a laugh. “I heard you tried to get double the asking price on the girl and you got told to fuck off.”

“Yeah, she’s trying to rip me off.” Guzma’s voice was lower than the rest of them, and calmer. “But don’t worry, I’m sure I can charm her enough to come around.”

“Two inches isn’t gonna charm anyone, braddah!” Another round of laughter.

“Alright, alright,” Guzma said, “you guys are mad because I keep winning. That’s fine. But don’t you boys worry. When we get this deal finalized, we’re all gonna be rich men. And all you fucks can lose your money to me all over again.”

More laughter. Gladion stumbled backwards, his mind racing.

Lusamine was one of Guzma’s main clients. This he already knew. But what was this about a girl being sold?

He turned, his heartbeat thrumming in his ears.

Sleep? Nonsense. There was no chance of that now.


	9. Part I: Lillie VI

“You have got to be kidding me!” Lillie shrieked, the tree behind her exploding with the impact of the superheated seeds. Somewhere to Lillie’s right, Acerola was laughing, her merriment standing in stark contrast to the fear blooming in Lillie’s chest. The forest was alight with chaotic noise as Lillie stumbled through the brush, clawing at the dirt as she scrambled away.

Lillie dived to a boulder, chancing a glance over to the wild pokemon just before. The toucannon had lifted its beak to the sky, a high pitched trill sounding out into the forest. Thousands of leaves vibrated in unison, the pressure of the call digging into Lillie’s eardrums. Lillie peeked from behind the rock. The toucannon stared off to the side – where Acerola had scattered to – its angry red eyes surveying the forest around it, keeping its back tucked away against a short rise of rocks further up the slope of the mountain.

“Sable, rough it up a little bit!” Acerola, her voice bright and excited, called out to her sableye, a happy tune in her words.

A dark creature rushed through the underbrush, kicking up sprays of dust and dirt. The toucannon turned towards the noise, spreading its wings wide. Its feathers puffed outwards mightily, adding body and weight to the bird’s appearance, and for a moment Lillie stared in awe as the creature seemed to grow. Steam rose from its beak as it prepared to fire another shot.

“Get down!” Acerola called. Lillie shrieked, diving away just as the boulder in front of her shattered. She felt the rush of air as seed fragments zoomed closely over her head.

“This isn’t fair!” Lillie cried out, scrambling for more tree cover, the fear propelling her legs, forbidding her to stand still for even an instant. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sable swipe at the toucannon, a long line of crimson blood shining through the feathers.

“Over here, Lillie!”

Lillie looked about frantically as she crashed through the rocky underbrush. She saw nothing in the chaos. She ducked behind a tree just as another superheated seed buzzed past head, shattering a trunk further down the slope.

A pregnant pause as Lillie stared at the ruined remains of the tree. Paralysis, if only just for an instant, then instinct gripped her. She shook herself back into focus.

“I don’t even know where you are!” Lillie’s frantically cried out. The toucannon’s shrieking filled the forest again as Acerola’s sableye landed another solid slash.

A hand reached her, grabbing her wrist and pulling down. Lillie shrieked in surprise as she tumbled over behind another rock. Lillie stared into Acerola’s grinning face, the older girl’s arm snaked around Lillie’s back from underneath her.

Another pause as Lillie stared at her – unmoving – for just an instant.

“This way!” Acerola scrambled up to her feet. Lillie nodded dumbly and followed.

They cut a wide circle around the thrashing toucannon as the sableye scrapped with it up close. Occasionally it would fire off a seed from its long beak, destroying trees or boulders or anything it hit, but the sableye would duck away easily. Lillie’s heart pounded in her chest, sweat dripping from her brow.

Acerola lead her up and around the battle, moving swiftly through the forest and keeping behind cover as Sable occupied the toucannon, keeping the pokemon’s head turned away from the two trainers.

Most of the time.

“Shit!” Acerola pivoted sharply. Lillie saw the wild toucannon turn towards them.

Acerola slammed into her, knocking her backwards. The seed impacted the monkeypod tree just above them, the trunk bursting into thousands of pieces. The top half of the tree collapsed downward, falling away from them, the wood groaning with the weight of the fall.

Lillie looked up at Acerola, their faces inches apart, as the girl straddled her. Acerola checked their surroundings, her gaze ending at the falling tree.

“I think we’re good.” Acerola’s hand pressed against Lillie’s shoulder as she sat up, surveying the battle. “Sable’s got it under control again.”

“This is ridiculous.” Lillie shook her head, staring past Acerola at the tree cover above.

“No,” Acerola grabbed Lillie’s face, smiling wide, “this is what a trainer does. C’mon!”

She stood, pulling Lillie after her. They continued skirting around the toucannon, eventually worming their way behind an outcropping of boulders. Below them, further down the slope, in the break in the forest, Sable and the toucannon battled. The toucannon was wearing down, its dodges becoming more and more sluggish. Acerola’s sableye showed no signs of exhaustion, keeping up an endless flurry of attacks.

“Get Koa down in there!” Acerola pressed in close to Lillie behind the rocks. “Let’s finish this thing off.”

“But…” Lillie glanced worriedly down at the fight. Another seed blasted off into the forest, the thunder of the attack rumbling through the underbrush. She could feel the earth shake beneath her feet, like the earth itself was protesting against the impact.

“Don’t worry about how dangerous it is,” Acerola said. “Just go for it and the consequences be damned.”

Lillie pulled Koa’s ball from her belt, biting her lips. If Koa even bothered to listen, he’d be useful, but...

“No need to be so worried, Lillie.” She looked over and Acerola nudged her shoulder. “It’s not like we’re both in danger or anything. Don’t let the panic show on that pretty face of yours.”

“I won’t be pretty without a head,” Lillie replied, staring down at the toucannon from a gap in her cover.

“Very true.” Acerola grabbed her arm. “Do it.”

Lillie hesitated, then raised her pokeball. “Koa! I choose you!”

The bagon hit the ground running towards the toucannon. He surveyed his surroundings briefly as the toucannon spun towards the newcomer, its beak opening at Lillie.

“Ah!” Acerola pulled Lillie down again as the seed cannoned past them.

“Attack it, Koa!” Lillie called. “Use, uh,” she struggled to remember what kinds of attacks a bagon would know, “Rage!”

The bagon looked from Lillie to the toucannon. For a long moment Lillie waited, wondering if Koa would obey. Eventually her pokemon lowered his head, charging for the toucannon. The bird fired off another seed and Koa dodged to the side, the seed burying itself deep into the dirt and kicking up a cloud of dust. Lillie lost sight of her pokemon.

“C’mon Koa!” Lillie shouted at the dark shapes darting about in the cloud.

“Keep your head down,” Acerola said, pulling her back below the rocks. “We don’t know where it’s facing.”

“Yeah, but he’s...” Lillie started to rise again and paused.

Her heart raced in her chest, adrenaline coursing through her. Her breath came in sharp, fast bursts. Every sound was acute – she could hear agitated pikipek in the trees darting about panicked and afraid. She could feel every rustle and shake in the underbrush. Acerola was breathing heavily next to her, her face flushed and her pupils dilated. The other girl’s breath was warm against Lillie’s skin, goosebumps forming where it touched.

 _She’s feeling the same thing I am right now,_ Lillie realized.

The manic shaking. The jolting movements. The thundering cannon bolts echoing through the earth. Lillie felt everything, heard everything. Toucannon and sableye and bagon sparring just meters away, dirt and dust spraying into the air. Acerola’s rushed breaths and clipped words, accented by her scratched cheeks and wide smile.

It felt _good_.

Lillie grinned back at Acerola and peered out as the dust was beginning to clear. The toucannon stood between Sable and Koa, breathing heavily. The skin around its beak was red and beginning to burn. Koa lunged, grabbing one wing in its mouth. Sable slashed the front of the now-immobilized toucannon, a deep gash opening up along its front. Screeching and crying out, the Toucannon thrashed futilely against the two pokemon, its long beak struggling to bite at them.

“Now, Lillie!” Acerola nudged her forward. Lillie slid down the hill, pokeball in hand. She raised her arm. The wild toucannon opened its beak, its eyes a blaze of fury and pain.

Just as Lillie was about to throw, a seed burst out of the pokemon’s beak. Koa dragged the toucannon’s wings down, changing the intended trajectory. It rocketed past Lillie, nipping the pokeball just as she released it from her hand. It shattered, metal dust exploding out into the forest.

Lillie stumbled, falling to one knee as the toucannon wrenched its wings, knocking both Sable and Koa forward and releasing their grips on the wild pokemon. It lifted its mighty beak, calling out a high-pitched wail into the forest as it flapped its wings hard.

Sable jumped after it, but the mighty bird charged down the mountain, taking off at a running start, screeching the whole way.

“After it!” Acerola called, and Lillie ran. Koa and Sable too, though she only barely noticed them at the edges of her vision.

The toucannon’s steps were irregular and sloppy, its wings flapping heavily and uselessly as it struggled to gain air. Sable hissed, jumping at its back and latching on, the two pokemon sliding into the dirt and rolling. Koa ran at Lillie’s side in pursuit.

“Knock it out, Sable!” Acerola’s voice from behind. The tumble of pokemon stopped as the toucannon slammed into a tree, one wing tearing at the air to the side. Sable’s jeweled eyes glowed purple instants before slamming its head into the toucannon’s. Lillie slowed as she grew closer, hesitating.

Acerola leaped forward, tackling the dazed bird. More screeching, this time resigned and in pain. Lillie stopped fully, watching as Acerola wrapped her legs around the lower abdomen of the bird, her hands fumbling with its head.

Its beak burned bright and red, pointed directly at Lillie as it charged up another shot.

“No!” Acerola was shouting, her hands rushing to the open maw of the bird’s multicolored beak. She forced it closed but the beak continued to glow hot-red. Acerola screamed in pain but kept the beak shut fast. “Do it now, Lillie!”

Lillie pulled another poke ball from her belt, charging the toucannon bodily. She was shouting, but with what words she couldn’t even tell herself. It was loud and unintelligible, mixing with Acerola’s pained cries as the skin of her hands burned. Lillie was centimeters away, the poke ball gripped tight.

“I can’t-” Acerola’s grip slipped, the bird’s beak opening just slightly.

It was a loud pop, a sudden vacuum of air exploding, the air heating, _burning_ , as the seed erupted out. Lillie stared straight down into the toucannon’s eyes, watching as if in slow motion as the bird faced directly at her. Acerola’s face was a mess of horror and panic.

A clap of pain in Lillie’s left ear and the thrumming of wings beating the air. Lillie cried out in pain, her vision darkening for a moment as she fell. Somewhere to her side, she saw the toucannon wresting itself from Acerola’s grasp as it finally rose into the air.

Lillie fell, stunned, her hand rushing to her head. A heavy buzzing in her ear, the skin somehow cold and raw despite the heat. Lillie stared dumbly after the bird as it finally disappeared into the trees.

“Lillie!” Dust and dirt from somewhere to her back. Lillie looked around, confused, as Acerola ran to her. The ghost trainer’s hands were raw, bleeding, and reaching for Lillie’s face.

“We...” Lillie looked towards where the bird had escaped. Sable scanned the perimeter and Koa was examining a small crater nearby that had sprouted seemingly from nowhere. Had it always been there? “We let it get away.”

“Oh thank god, Lillie,” Acerola reached out, wrapping Lillie in a hug and dragging them both down into the dirt. “Thank god it missed.”

“Missed?” Lillie stared back, confused, watching as the tears formed into the girl’s eyes. She was so close. “Ace, the toucannon’s getting away.”

Koa waddled over to her, his fangs bared as he looked down at the tangled pair of girls. He stopped at their feet, panting. Lillie breathed heavily, examining her pokemon, the adrenaline not quite fading yet.

* * *

Koa lay back against a nearby tree, staring at the spot in the trees where the toucannon had disappeared. The forest had been deathly quiet since, though Lillie couldn’t tell if that was because all the nearby pokemon had fled, or if her ears had gotten damaged by the last blast. A dull ringing hadn’t yet subsided, and as Lillie ran her bottled water over Acerola’s burned hands she couldn’t help but feel a nagging worry that the ringing would be permanent.

“Ouch.” Acerola whined, a cute little sound, as Lillie rinsed away the dirt. Lillie crouched in front of the sitting girl, paying close attention to her task.

“That was...” Lillie had been trying and failing to adequately talk about what happened. “That was not what I expected from a hike into the mountains.”

“Honestly me neither,” Acerola quipped, letting out a sly chuckle before smothering it with another painful wince. “We were just coming out here to get you a pikipek or something, I swear. But then THAT thing showed up, and… well… your ear is okay, right?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about me, Ace,” Lillie smiled. “It’s nothing.”

“You’re tougher than I expected,” Acerola said. Her skin felt hot and swelled slightly. Lillie put down the water bottle, digging through the pack that Acerola brought from Ilima’s house. She found gauze tucked away towards the bottom.

“You were holding that thing’s beak shut!” Lillie said. Acerola scoffed in protest as she started wrapping the trainer’s hands.

“It nearly nailed you in the face with a seed cannon.” Acerola winced again. “Just another inch or two to the left and your head would be sprayed neatly all over the forest floor. And here you are, tending to me like _I’m_ the one who’s supposed to be freaking out.”

“Huh?” Lillie looked up at Acerola for a long moment, pausing in her job. A chill ran through her, as if a breeze had ran through the stagnant forest air. Lillie felt her lips quiver as a cold realization ran through her. “Another… inch to the left?”

Lillie shook her head, resuming her task. The image of the toucannon was fresh in her head, of its beak opening just slightly, of Acerola’s burning hands trying in vain to keep it closed. The rest of her vision had been blurred, all of her focus on the pokemon before her.

“You did good, Lillie,” Acerola said, snapping Lillie out of her daydream. “You did really good.”

The two girls were silent for a long while as Lillie finished wrapping Acerola’s palms. She put a single layer over each finger to let the girl still be able to use her hands. It was a temporary medical effort, one that could be improved upon when they got back to Ilima’s. When they finally got themselves together to start the hike back, the sky was just beginning to turn orange.

It hadn’t seemed such a long hike when they were heading up here, but the walk back dragged on. Acerola stayed quiet, mulling something over in her head. Lillie kept glancing at her and at her bandaged hands. She could feel her own heart ache as she looked at the injuries and at the spots of scattered blood starting to show through the gauze.

“Lillie, listen.” Acerola paused them. The sun was below the horizon now, and the forest long behind them. Around them the pampas grass swayed in the twilight air. “I’m sorry. I was reckless. I guess… I guess I wanted to test you, which is why we went after that toucannon. I should have pulled us back, but...”

Lillie stopped her, shaking her head.

“No, it was… it was exciting, and,” Lillie could feel her heart pounding again as she remembered it all, “and I’m glad. I’m glad it happened.”

For a while Acerola looked back at her, a shocked expression on her face. It was a long moment before that shock changed to a wry smile, and then a grin.

“You know what, Lillie?” Acerola nudged Lillie with her elbow. “You’re alright.”


	10. Part I: Gladion III

His eyes snapped open, and he was instantly aware of the sweat and grime. He shuddered and sat up, hand clenched against his mouth as if that could somehow fight the nausea. His stomach roiled, protesting something, _everything_ , and Gladion squeezed his eyes shut for another moment.

The dream again.

A massive square room, the floor of bare, polished white tile. Equipment and scientists, frantically running about. His mother’s voice, calm above the panic, and the scientists shouting her down, yelling for her to stop.

The warped, twisted hand, shrouded in darkness, emerging from nothing. Reaching, dragging.

Lillie screaming.

Gladion shook his head, struggling to banish the dream from his mind.

“All that is over now,” Gladion said to himself, gritting his teeth. “This is my life now.”

He stripped the sweaty, malodorous shirt and boxers he was wearing, tossing them into a corner of his small room. He’d have to do his laundry soon. Gladion padded over the bathroom connected to his room – a luxury he was surprised Guzma allowed him – and started up the shower.

Team Skull wasn’t known for its richness. The mansion was run down, cold, and damp. Mold rose proudly from the floorboards, and the dank, dark bathroom was no stranger to it either. He absently rubbed a patch of dark mold in the porcelain shower.

Often he’d thought of cleaning the place, but the sheer monumental nature of the task stopped him every time. At the very least he had some privacy, even if the nights were loud with the excited volume of parties and arguments, even if the bed was cold and mattress slumping.

He was distant from his upbringing, now more than ever.

Lukewarm water ran over his body. Gladion put the barest minimum of effort into the shower, lazily running soap over his body and rubbing some nondescript, faded-labeled shampoo into his hair. It was enough to feel fresh, at least.

He stepped out of the shower, towel wrapped around his waist, and opened the door to his bedroom. Luna stared back at him, standing in the middle of his room, wide-eyed and uncertain. Gladion took a moment for himself, looking from the girl to his now wide-open bedroom door, before sighing heavily.

“What do you need?” Gladion asked, his wet feet leaving a trail as he moved to close his door. Luna cocked an eyebrow at him.

“You’re naked,” she said. “Lei didn’t say you were going to be naked, but she did say that I had to tell you that you need to watch me for the morning shift today.”

“I’m already watching you for the night shift,” Gladion retorted. A headache already threatened him from behind his eyes. “I’m supposed to deal with you the _whole day_?”

“Yup.” A blunt reply. They stood there, staring at each other, the water dripping slightly from Gladion’s chest.

“So...” Gladion grit his teeth.

“So?”

“You going to let me get dressed?” Gladion asked. Luna seemed taken aback. She looked around his room, noticing the pile of dirty clothes in the corner by the window.

“Go...ahead?” Luna gestured to the clothes, evidently confused.

Gladion sighed again.

His headache was already getting worse.

* * *

“It’ll be fine,” Luna insisted. Gladion shook his head, crossing his arms.

“Null is not going to let you ride him,” Gladion retorted yet again, flabbergasted by her insistence. Luna had been all over this idea since the morning, asking again and again. Gladion tried his best to ignore her as he fixed both of their breakfasts and then walked her to the doctor for her morning appointment, but it was quickly becoming impossible.

They’d just arrived at the garden, where Gladion hoped – apparently in vain – that the girl would become distracted by her plants and give up. Instead Luna plopped herself next to Gladion on the bench and leaned in close, asking yet again.

“Can I _please_ ride Null?”

“You’re going to get hurt,” Gladion said. His headache hadn’t gone away since the morning, and her nagging had done absolutely nothing to help that. It throbbed behind his eyes, pressed into his skull painfully.

“ _Please?_ ” she begged again.

A flare of anger. Gladion stood up, grabbing the pokeball from his belt and raising his arm. He glared down at her as he pressed the button.

“ _Fine._ You want to get hurt? It’s not my problem.” Gladion growled, letting the pokemon loose. A white mist erupted from the pokeball as Null materialized on the soft dirt of the mostly-empty garden. Luna popped up in excitement, hopping over to the pokemon as it regained its corporeal form.

Gladion collapsed back on the bench, leaning his head against the wall at staring up past the tops of the walls. A single guard was looking down at their commotion, eyeing the exchange with a small amount of curiosity.

Luna stretched out her hand to Null, her expression expectant and open. The chimera watched her, its eyes shining from behind its helmet. Gladion sighed expecting Null to snort and turn away at any moment.

“He’s not going to listen to you,” Gladion waved a hand dismissively. “He’s big and all, but he’s an idiot.”

“So he’s like you,” Luna tossed back, grinned at Gladion over her shoulder, a mischievous slant to her smile. “Though I guess you’re not that big.”

“Bigger than you,” Gladion grumbled, absently watching as Luna and Null looked at one another.

The two of them continued like this for a few minutes until finally Null leaned its head down. Luna spun around Null’s shoulder, grabbing a fistful of his back fur and jumping up on the pokemon’s back. Gladion stood, gaping at the girl. Null shook its head, its gray mane puffing out around it wildly. Luna laughed and tossed her head back as the chimera took off running.

“Wait!” He shouted in vain, left behind.

Gladion stepped after them, but Null was already gone, sprinting down the middle of Po Town, dust and dirt and mud kicking up into the air behind it. Passing Team Skull members gaped in confusion at the chimera as it charged down the road, confused expressions on each of their faces. Luna squealed and yelled the whole way.

Eventually they reached the end of the compound and Null turned around to race back to where Gladion stood. Null put its head down, its legs pounding. Luna waved at Gladion, her arms flying freely in the air, her body only anchored to Null by her knees pressing into his sides. Her entire body swayed precariously, but if the girl noticed she certainly didn’t care.

Luna beamed at Gladion as Null pulled up next to him. The pokemon gasped for air, tossing its head occasionally. She slid off the pokemon’s back, her chest heaving with the effort of her own short breaths, sweat glistening on her skin.

Gladion looked away as she started to pull off her Team Skull hoodie, the fabric of her shirt riding up and exposing her stomach. If she noticed, she didn’t care.

“You… I’m… _I’m_ the idiot?” Gladion finally said, flabbergasted, noticing the hat she’d been given was gone too. He looked down the road, looking for it but finding nothing. Luna nodded at him, smirking. Null kicked its back legs into the air and pranced about, pawing the air heavily with each step.

“Null liked the exercise,” Luna quipped. She smiled again and Gladion found himself smiling back at her.

His smile faded when she turned away.

 _A ‘faller’…_ Gladion wondered to himself, a quiet anxiety building.

* * *

“How’d your shift go?” Lei planted herself on the bench next to him, her red hair alight in the twilight haze. Luna sprawled out over the ground in the garden, weakly batting at Null’s mask as the pokemon stood over her. “I heard there was some commotion earlier.”

“Nothing too bad,” Gladion shrugged, “Luna and Null were playing around and a few guys got on my case about letting them run about like that. I told them to fuck off.”

“So you’re not mad about me dropping the double shift on you?” Lei asked, a hesitation in her voice that Gladion didn’t quite understand.

“Nah,” Gladion shook his head. “The girl is annoying as hell, but she played with Null all day. He probably needed that.”

Lei didn’t respond, merely looking at Luna for a long time.

“She’s very cute,” she finally said.

She went silent.

Luna laughed as Null flipped her onto her stomach with one mighty paw. The sight of it made Gladion smile despite himself. The two of them playing together was much more entertaining than watching her tend to a garden.

“What do you think Guzma is going to do with her?” Lei asked.

“I don’t know.” Gladion lied.

It wasn’t long later that he was walking back to his room, his knuckles white as he gripped his fists tight. His headache was gone but he still felt that tenseness, that nagging at the back of his mind. Luna had been so sad when he finally put Null back in his pokeball, and Lei had hurried the girl off to Doctor Turner’s without saying much more.

A morning appointment and a nighttime appointment.

 _They’re selling her to Lusamine,_ Gladion thought to himself as he brushed past the mansion’s door guards. One of them stared down at him, his eyes shadowed by his Team Skull cap. Both of them held heavy rifles, their faces stern and cold. Looked more like soldiers than gang members, really. There were a lot of guys around here now just like that.

 _Why are they selling her to Lusamine?_ Gladion closed his door behind him and started to pace. _They called her a ‘Faller’. What does that even mean?_

He’d heard the term long ago, down in the depths of Aether Paradise. He remembered the labs of white, with cold walls and speakers that would call instructions down to him. He saw his mother standing behind glass, her expression blank.

The men with the masks. One of them had said it once.

* * *

It had turned into a triple shift. When Lei got back from the doctor’s with Luna, she banged on Gladion’s door, tearing him from his already furtive sleep. He had to cover her shift. Again. At least it was only half the time, but still...

Hours and hours passed excruciatingly slowly, and Gladion tried his best to imagine he was anywhere but here, anywhere but standing out in a cold hallway, watching the empty space on the wall in front of him. It didn’t work.

It was not a whole lot different from being in Aether Paradise, but at least this place didn’t have the clinical white walls and terrible fluorescent lighting blazing into his eyes. Nobody in masks passed by the windows, muttering scientific nothings to themselves while they occasionally observed him.

More time passed.

It was early in the morning when he heard the noises.

At first he thought he imagined it. They started off small. Bumps and snaps in the dark coming from Luna’s room. Sometimes he’d hear her bed creak as she shifted in her sleep. However, the occasional bumping turned constant, the movement becoming louder and louder. Gladion turned towards the door, curious.

She screamed.

“Luna!” Gladion tore open the door.

Bathed in the early morning moonlight, the girl stood in the center of the room. Her white shorts and tank top seemed to glow. She was faced away from him, her head tilted up to the ceiling. Luna was shaking, her hands trembling heavily.

A ring of bare floor surrounded her, but the room outside of that circle was chaos. Her bed was upended, the mattress pressed against the opposite wall as the frame. Her dresser was broken in two, her clothes spilling into one corner of the room. The window had shattered, glass encircling the ring where Luna stood. A lightbulb flickered on the ground, connected to nothing. Everything in the room had been upended and tossed about, the place in complete disarray.

“Luna…” Gladion stepped into the room and the door slammed shut behind him.

She collapsed, falling to her knees. Gladion rushed to her, propping her up. Her head tilted backwards listlessly, her eyes staring forward into nothing. She noticed him and smiled.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, barely audible.

“Why?” Gladion held her. She was so light.

“For what has happened to you,” she said, her lips barely moving. “And for what’s going to happen to you.”

She closed her eyes and the moonlight faded.

* * *

Luna curled up in his bed, her face digging deep into his pillow. She was sound asleep – had been since Gladion carried her here from her room. Her breathing came soft and slow – peaceful, which is really all he wanted. She seemed small, the way she clutched his pillow. How a frail girl like her had managed to completely destroy her room, well...

The place was completely trashed; every bit of furniture was broken in some way. He’d dusted off some of her clothes and brought them over with him, but he still eyed them with some suspicion. The shattered window had sprayed broken glass throughout the entire room, covering most of it in a thin film of shards. Her clothes could have potentially carried some of that fine dust.

Though for whatever reason the center where Luna stood was completely bare.

“What the hell happened?” Gladion muttered, sitting in his chair with his head in his hands. Her chest rose and fell, his blankets mostly bunched up around her feet. It was a small bed, but she made it seem large around her. She was eating every meal she was given, but still she seemed almost unhealthily skinny.

He wasn’t comfortable, but at least sitting in his own chair was a better alternative to standing in a dark hallway. Somehow he’d have to explain the state of her room when the sun came up. And why the girl he was supposed to be guarding was now sleeping in his room.

It was nearly an hour later when his eyes began to close. Yeah, he was on guard duty, but it was his own room. Surely there wouldn’t be an issue. There probably would be, but he’d just deal with it later. These were extenuating circumstances.

He slumped over in his chair, head nodding with exhaustion. He really hadn’t been getting much sleep lately. Luna had been taking up all of his time. Lei had less shifts than he did, so it was like he was doing all of the work.

No, he couldn’t just go to sleep like this.

He had a job to do.

He slipped into unconsciousness.

He saw it again, the massive square room, the floor of bare, polished white tile. Equipment and scientists, frantically running about. His mother’s voice, calm above the panic, and the scientists shouting her down, yelling for her to stop.

The warped, twisted hand, shrouded in darkness, emerging from nothing. Reaching, dragging.

Lillie screaming.


	11. Part I: Lillie VII

She was staring up, through the darkness. Around her the white room shone, clear and bright. Clean until moments before, when the panic had upended tables and computers and all manner of instruments. Her mother’s voice over the comms, and scientists protesting back.

The hand reached for her and Lillie opened her mouth to scream.

The ringing of metal against wood flooding the room. Lillie’s eyes shot open, a ghostly black face pressing against hers.

Lillie gasped, startling back into the corner of the room, wrapping her arms around her legs protectively, recoiling away from the _thing_ dangling in the air in front of her. It lunged and she bolted – shouting the whole way, of course – rushing past Ilima and Acerola, who stood in the doorway. Feet stomped on the hardwood floors after her and Lillie spun, pressing her back against the opposite wall of the living room.

“It’s okay,” Acerola slowed, smiling at her, “Lillie, it’s okay.”

A ghastly hovered through the air behind its trainer, the pokemon’s eyes open wide, its expression horrified – mimicking Lillie’s no doubt. Lillie shivered as she stared at the thing, her breathing beginning to slow. Hau leaned around the doorway, curiously observing the commotion. After a long moment, Lillie breathed out, feeling the heat on her face from embarrassment. She shot a dirty look at Acerola.

“You’re having too much fun with me,” she complained. Acerola beamed, spinning about on one foot. Ilima chuckled in the doorway and started towards the kitchen.

Two hours later they set out from the house, stomachs full with Ilima’s cooking and Acerola apologizing endlessly, though not necessarily genuinely, for letting the ghastly spook her. They trekked through Route Two, this time further south down the coast instead of immediately into the mountain forests. Lillie thought of the toucannon and wondered where it was out there – it had been heavily injured, but it escaped.

It was an hour of walking before Acerola finally stopped them.

“So!” Acerola turned about, the jacket tied around her waist flaring about around her. Lillie stopped, recoiling in surprise from the suddenness of it. The morning was starting to lighten its hold over the road. Gentle winds blew through vast yellow fields of pampas grass, and Lillie couldn’t help but notice their hiking trail had started to vanish, replaced by irregular grass and haphazard plants.

“So?” Lillie echoed the older girl, glancing about herself. Yesterday’s misadventure happened deep in the forest, but that didn’t mean something dangerous wasn’t lying in wait somewhere close by.

“So...” Acerola’s brow furrowed in confusion, staring down at the ground with her hand gently pressed against her chin. “What to do...”

The girl stood there for a while, the calls of the pikipek growing louder by the minute as the early hours began to fade. Nestled within the light-sounding chirping were deeper, more booming calls of trumbeak.

There _could_ be another toucannon out there.

Lillie rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, yawning for good measure. They’d returned home from the exhausting trip yesterday late in the day, her whole body sore from the fight with the wild pokemon. When Acerola relayed the story to Ilima the man seemed surprised but not overly so – as if he expected such a thing from Acerola. When Acerola talked about Lillie’s role in the fight, he kept a still expression, one that Lillie couldn’t even begin to analyze.

“Your partner from years ago,” Lillie asked as Acerola stared at the ground. The trainer perked up, cocking her head. “It was Ilima, right?”

“Right!” Acerola nodded. For a moment Acerola looked away, before grinning back at her pupil. “The both of us set out together, actually, though we didn’t finish at the same time.”

“How come?” Lillie observed her surroundings. The path had dropped away, the forest stretching about nearby. Something about the shape of the trees, or the isolated nature of this patch of trees caught Lillie’s attention. It was oddly familiar…

“I, uh, I finished first,” Acerola’s voice suddenly shifted to a quieter tone. “Here, let’s check out this area.” She gestured to the forest in front of them.

It was only growing more familiar. Lillie stared at the underbrush around her with a sudden gnawing suspicion, her hand gripped tight on Koa’s pokeball. Acerola led the way, yammering on about something to do with her past trials.

“I had a SUPER hard time with the first trial,” Acerola’s voice seemed oddly distant. “Normal types, you know? My only pokemon was Sandy, my Sandyghast–” Lillie smirked at that; the girl’s nicknames were all truncations of the species name, “–and even though he and I were like, super close and all, he couldn’t even hit the trial captain’s pokemon.”

Lillie pondered that for a moment. The trial captain before Ilima, huh?

“Who was the captain?” she asked, and Acerola froze.

“Uh,” Acerola scanned their surroundings, “Hey, what was that?”

The girl dashed off into the forest. Lillie sighed, trudging after her. Her mentor’s constant energy was starting to get to her. Yesterday Acerola had hiked them miles up a mountain only to return home empty handed. Who knew how long today’s journey was going to be? Lillie pressed the button on Koa’s ball, releasing the pokemon. Koa stretched his small arms up into the air, like he was waking from a long nap. He yawned, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

“Come on, Koa,” Lillie smiled down at her pokemon, who stared at her with an annoyed look in his eyes. “Let’s go find her.”

She walked, gingerly brushing tree branches out of the way and very carefully stepping around wet patches of mud. Her white sneakers used to be really nice until the misadventure yesterday, but there was no point in ruining them further. Another branch caught on her white jacket and Lillie cursed as she bent the branch away from her.

“All this just to get off the island,” Lillie cursed. “Ruining all my clothes...”

Acerola’s scream pierced the forest air. Koa snapped to attention, staring off in the direction of the sound. Lillie snapped to attention, staring out into the forest. Suddenly the trees seemed to loom larger, the calls of the pikipek seeming almost menacing.

“Ace?” Lillie gingerly called out, feeling the hair on the back of her neck starting to rise.

No response.

Hurrying through the underbrush, she swore as a branch cut into her hand, leaving a long scratch. Worry pressed her legs faster. She called out to Acerola again and again to no response. Koa chased after her, sniffing the air occasionally.

“Ace?” She called. A weak sound called back from the underbrush and Lillie rushed after its source.

 _Was it another toucannon? But I thought those were rare, and I didn’t hear any explosions._ Lillie broke through the edges of a clearing. She stopped cold, frozen in her tracks. Koa stopped himself just to the side of her, following Lillie’s gaze.

Suddenly she knew why the area was so familiar.

Acerola was on the ground, laughing and squealing with glee, a pichu in her hands.

“Oh. My. GOD!” Acerola laughed, mussing up the small animal’s hair and scratching its ears wildly. “Look at this thing!”

Lillie rolled her eyes.

Acerola continued to mess with her captive pokemon, the thing struggling futilely against the forced affection. The girl had one hand firmly gripping the scruff of its neck, the other hand petting it with wild abandon. The wild pichu stared back at Acerola with pure, unadulterated hate.

Adorable pure, unadulterated hate.

“You’re gonna get shocked, Ace.” Lillie approached gingerly, recalling her previous experiences with the electric rat pokemon. One of those things had attacked her when she was changing clothes, of all the times to do so.

“No I’m not,” Acerola grinned back. She pointed one finger in the pokemon’s face, scratching the bridge of its nose. The thing stared back, its entire body wound up like a clock, all of its tiny muscles tensed.

“Y-Yes, you are,” Lillie retorted. “That thing looks like it wants to kill you.”

The pichu swiped weakly at Acerola’s hand and the ghost-trainer laughed, flicking its nose. The pichu’s whole body recoiled, the tiny pokemon scrunching its face as it rocked backwards. Acerola kept her hand gripped firmly on the scruff of its neck.

“You ever own a meowth?” Acerola ruffled the fur on the Pichu’s head. Lillie considered the question. There had been meowths at the sanctuary on Aether Paradise.

“I guess?”

“Well, you know how they curl up and stop moving if you grab them by the scruff of the neck?” Acerola asked, toying with the pichu’s paws. Lillie nodded. “Same thing happens to a lot of other mammalian pokemon, especially–” she squeezed one paw gingerly, a spark igniting from the pichu’s cheeks, “–pichu. This little guy is furious and he really, really wants to shock me.” Acerola flicked its nose again for effect and the pichu’s eyes narrowed hard, its entire face scrunching up. “But he can’t because of how I’m gripping its neck.” Acerola touched her nose to the pichu’s, grinning wide. Lillie stared at the girl for a while, feeling a hint of a blush in her cheeks as she watched the older girl play carefree with the captive pokemon.

“Huh,” Lillie walked over, sitting next to where Acerola was lounging on the grass. The pichu stared at the newcomer with suspicion. Lillie extended an arm out to the captive pokemon hesitantly. Its cheeks sparked and she yelped, pulling her hand back.

“It’s okay, Lillie.” Acerola lay flat on the grass, staring up at Lillie. Her black hair was wild around her, the sun shining across half of her face. Acerola was so relaxed, even with the wild electric type squirming in her grip. “Don’t be afraid.”

 _Don’t be afraid._ Lillie swallowed. She reached out to the pichu and petted it gingerly. Its cheeks sparked in anger, its eyes narrow. From a few feet away, Koa stared at the pokemon curiously, his head cocked as he watched the scene unfold. Lillie rubbed behind its ears, drawing a squirming protest from the tiny rat pokemon.

“You should catch him,” Acerola said, holding the pichu up to Lillie’s face.

“What? Really?” Lillie stared at the thing and it growled back at her with miniature rage.

“I mean, just look at him!” Acerola pressed a finger against its mouth, pushing back its lips and whiskers and exposing a line of sharp, white fangs. “He’s in great health and he’s got a fighting attitude. A perfect addition to a team, really. A bit small, but they get tough as adults.”

Lillie pondered this.

“I guess I can,” she reached into her bag, fishing for some of the pokeballs Ilima had given her. “I just thought I’d have to battle it and weaken it or something first.”

Acerola shrugged. “If he breaks out you might have to battle him, but he’s really weak so I don’t know if he even can.” She turned to Koa for a moment, batting a hand at the dragon pokemon’s nose. He stepped back, narrowing his eyes, but otherwise didn’t fight back. “I dunno how you caught one of these with a Heavy Ball. Bagons are notoriously difficult to keep in a ball.”

“Why?” Lillie asked. Acerola shook her head.

“They’re really dumb and stubborn.” Lillie looked back at her pokemon. It still had some residual bruising from its fight with the toucannon and with poppy, though much of it had faded with liberal treatment. Ilima was well-supplied with medicine.

 _Dumb and stubborn?_ Koa eyed the pichu quietly. For some reason those descriptors didn’t quite fit the Bagon. _Maybe I’m just biased._

Lillie pressed a pokeball against the pichu’s skin, the wriggling fluff-ball of negativity disappearing in a flash of light. The novice trainer held the pokeball in her hand for a long while as the central button glowed red. She held her breath until the button flashed white.

Captured.

“That was… easy?” Lillie stared down at her second pokemon’s ball.

“Sure was,” Acerola stared at the sky, her expression changing, “now let me explain the hard part.”

“Huh?”

“Pichu only keep that infantile response from grabbing the scruff of their neck when they’re part of a cohesive family grouping,” Acerola rolled over to her side, scanning the forest around them. Her black t-shirt rode up slightly, revealing her stomach and a belt full of pokeballs. Lillie found herself looking at the girl’s stomach for a long while before looking away. “Which means the only reason I was able to disable that pichu was because it has a mother, a father, and maybe even siblings out in this forest. Parent pikachu or raichu tend to pick up their pichu cubs by the scruff of their necks to move them around or break up fights. Without parents, there’s nobody to reinforce that response, and the pichu will lose it over time.”

“So that means…” Lillie swallowed.

“We just stole a pokemon from its family,” Acerola rolled over, standing and brushing grass from the front of her shirt and shorts, “and a particularly social pokemon with a complex family grouping to boot.”

Lillie stood.

“But it’s okay.” Acerola smiled, a sort of wry thinning to her lips. “This is our place in the world, you know? We’re trainers. We might be catching pokemon that will become our greatest friends and allies, though we’re taking them from nature in the process, but that’s fine.” Acerola looked up at Lillie. “We carve our place into this world one way or the other.”

“I see...” Lillie looked down and away. Koa was sniffing at the grass near their feet.

“Lillie!”

“Huh?” Lillie looked up just as Acerola tackled her, dragging her down. “What!?”

Acerola deftly flipped her over, straddling Lillie and sitting up, a triumphant, cocky smile stretching across her face. “Stop that!” she said, and Lillie just stared back in confusion. Her heart was pounding now, her clothes ruffled and grass poking through her shirt.

“Stop what?” she demanded back, trying to sit up, but Acerola pressed a hand into her shoulder, pushing her back down.

“Stop worrying.”

“I always worry,” Lillie retorted.

They lay there on the grass for a while, Acerola staring down at Lillie. Lillie shifted uncomfortably, her legs locked down by the other girl. After a long moment, Acerola jumped up, extending a hand to Lillie to help her up, which she took.

“I think you’ll do fine, you know?” Acerola said, lightly punching Lillie’s shoulder.

“F-Fine?” Lillie ran a hand through her own hair, pulling out a long, thin tree stem.

“Yeah!” Acerola turned to march out of the clearing, moving as quickly as she always did. “Oh, and look out for the mother or father,” Acerola called back, disappearing into the forest. “Who knows where they are, and they’re not gonna be happy when they find us.”

Lillie looked down at Koa, who stared back impassively, having dodged the entire exchange. After a moment the bagon trudged off after the ghost trainer, waddling into the underbrush. Lillie gripped the pokeball in her hand for a long while before following.

Her heart was going a million miles an hour, and she hoped to whatever god was out there that Acerola hadn’t noticed.


	12. Part I: Gladion IV

Gladion woke with a start, his head firmly pressed into his pillow. He sat up, wondering when he had crawled back into his own bed. A hint of fading anxiety gripped him but only for just a moment. He had the visions of that white room, of his mother’s voice, of the dark hand grasping, but it had faded somehow, as if the nightmare had been fought off.

 _Luna?_ He glanced around his room quickly, panicked, until he saw her sitting in his chair, staring out the window. It was early morning now, the sky a pale blue. Luna glanced at him and smiled. She was still in her clothes from the night before, her dark hair contrasting her pale white skin.

“You’re bad at guard duty,” she giggled.

Gladion nodded at her.

“You destroyed your room,” he replied.

Luna shrugged.

Gladion wasn’t sure what to say, so he said nothing. He got up, pulling his shirt off as he walked to the bathroom. Luna had one eyebrow raised, examining him. He felt heat on his face and turned away from her, closing the bathroom door roughly behind him.

 _I don’t remember crawling into my bed._ Gladion felt the cool water run over his sweaty skin. The night had been kinder to him than usual, but it had become a force of habit now to shower upon waking. The tropical humidity had always left him miserable in the morning.

And yet…

Gladion exited the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist. Luna smiled at him as he grabbed a change of clothes and retreated again, closing the door behind himself. Gladion paused as he finished dressing himself. How was he going to explain neglecting his guard duty? Gladion glanced around for a clock. The guard change should be happening around this time. Gladion _should_ be switching with somebody else around this time.

He sighed, opening the bathroom door and padding across the wooden floor. Luna sat against the window, one arm draped lazily outside. A few pikipek fluttered among the outside branches and she watched them carefully.

“Hey, uh,” Gladion slumped heavily onto the side of his bed. “I don’t remember when I moved to my bed. Do you?”

“Hmm...” Luna pressed a finger to her lips, looking up with an exaggerated expression of confusion. “You were having a nightmare and mumbling scary stuff in your sleep. You didn’t look very comfortable on this chair,” she pat the cushion, “so I moved you to your bed.”

“You… moved me?”

“Mhmm!” A short, bright sound.

 _This girl…_ Gladion lay back against his bed.

The guard had likely already changed. If there was trouble to get in, Gladion was already in it. He let out the air from his lungs, pondering what he could possibly said. He had a legitimate reason for dragging Luna into his room. Maybe.

The two sat for a while, saying nothing. She stared out at the trees and buildings below, and he lay back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. Long, long ago a ceiling fan must have hung in this room. The mount was still there, as well as some ancient, rusted wiring. Long since unusable, most likely.

Luna hummed along with the birdsong, a quiet sound.

_Guzma’s selling her to Lusamine._

The thought nagged at him and he pushed it away.

“How old are you, Luna?”

“I dunno. Probably around sixteen I guess. You?”

 _Probably?_ “Seventeen. Ran away from home two years ago.”

“I ran away from home too,” Luna replied. “In a sense.”

“And now you’re here.” Gladion narrowed his eyes, recalling the day he’d met this odd girl. “You said a while back that you knew my parents. How?”

“Hmm...” Luna held the sound for a long time. “I saw them in my head.”

Gladion rolled his eyes. “You’re weird, you know that right?”

“But you think I’m cute so you’re fine with me being weird.”

Gladion sat up quickly, looking at her, a feeling a vague disbelief running through him. Luna was smirking at him, one finger absently playing with a strand of her hair.

“Forget I asked anything.” Gladion turned over on his bed, facing the wall.

A banging on the door disturbed their repose. Neither of them had even the slightest chance to react before Guzma burst into the room, eyes wide and expression panicked. Gladion turned towards the noise. The big man’s chest was heaving, his face panicked and confused.

“Where the hell is the girl–” the man started, but then his eyes settled on Luna sitting in Gladion’s chair. She looked back at him, her expression devoid. Slowly, the expression on his boss’s face changed and Gladion inwardly groaned. He knew _exactly_ what this looked like. Guzma started to grin, digging his hands into his deep pockets and leaning against the doorway.

“Wait.” Gladion sat up. “Her room got trashed. She was just sleeping here to–”

“Your mother wouldn’t approve, kiddo,” Guzma sauntered into the room, closing the door behind him. “You’re lucky I don’t think like her.” With every step his gold chains glittered, his white hair bouncing. “Looks like she put up a bit of a fight, too. You two trashed the fuck out of her room. Like mother, like son, eh?”

“Look, I’m… I’m,” Gladion started. “I’m not sure how it happened, but–”

“Get her dressed,” Guzma pointed a lazy finger at her, “and get her downstairs. Lei will watch her for a while. Faba’s gonna be here today to confirm the goods and I’m dead-set on wringing a better deal out of that fuck.”

_Goods? Faba?_

Guzma patted Gladion on the shoulder, smirking, grinning at him. Gladion felt his breath catch. “Oh, and nice job, kiddo.”

“It’s not like that!” He called after the man, but he was already out the door. Luna turned to the closed door, her expression puzzled.

“Not like what?” Luna asked him. Gladion turned to her, incredulous and unsure how to respond. Her eyes went wide. “Oh!” She blushed. “He thinks we were having sex.”

“Nevermind any of that,” Gladion said, standing. “Get yourself showered and changed. I’ll wait outside.”

He stormed out of the room in a huff, struggling to hide his embarrassment.

* * *

It wasn’t long later that he was walking back to his room, his knuckles white as he gripped his fists tight. Luna had seemed so sad when Lei hurried the girl off to Doctor Turner’s without saying much more. Lei hadn’t commented on the fact that Luna had spent the night in Gladion’s room, which Gladion was very grateful for.

 _They’re selling her to Lusamine._ _This must be why Faba is coming here. It must be._

He tried to relax in his room but the nagging worry wouldn’t leave him. The pikipek chirped in sing-song tones outside and he could almost hear Luna’s humming from the morning even now. He could see her wrapped on his bed, sleeping quietly.

“She’s just a girl,” Gladion told himself. “Just stay out of whatever Guzma has planned. It’s going to end badly anyway.”

_His plans always do._

It wasn’t long before a fist banging on his door dragged him back to reality. Gladion jumped, then settled into a familiar anger as he strode to the door. Whatever fucker decided to bang on _his_ door like that would–

He threw his door open and felt all the anger rush out of him. Guzma stood in his doorway, grinning down at him. Gladion looked away.

“The fuck’s up your butt?” Guzma smirked, then wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “C’mon, I wanna show you something.”

Gladion let himself be pulled out of his room by the larger man. It’s not like he had a choice in the matter anyway. He never did.

“I heard you were making quite the stir yesterday,” Guzma said, “what with the girl riding around on your pokemon and all. And then _you_ go and ride _her_ last night when you’re supposed to be guarding her. I take it you’re enjoying your guard duty.”

Gladion grit his teeth.

“I told you already it wasn’t like that. The stuff in her room had been smashed and I–”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Guzma stopped for a moment, gripping Gladion’s shoulders with a levity to them that only made him want to run away. “Look kiddo, I know you had a rough time growin’ up. Lusamine’s a crazy bitch. I get it. A _hot_ crazy bitch, granted. And smart too, damn. And rich! Like holy hell, she’s perfect–”

“Your point?”

“Anyway, I know she didn’t treat you and your sister right, and I’m gonna find your sister and bring her back to you, I promise that.” Guzma’s ugly face was contorted with what Gladion could only assume was the man’s best attempt at compassion. Not very convincing. “But you don’t need to go and break a bunch of furniture when you’re mad. The girl needs to have a room of her own, you hear? Even if she’s spending the night with you, we can’t be _animals_ and not provide her with her own room, you know?”

“For the last time...”

“So try not to go nuts like that again, okay?” Guzma said, squeezing Gladion’s shoulders.

Gladion sighed.

They walked together through the damp and dark hallways of Guzma’s mansion, their pathway lit only by the occasional incandescent bulb. They passed many closed doors – mostly rooms for Guzma’s more senior officers, or storage rooms for various illegal purposes. Drugs, probably. It was the main source of income for the gang.

“She’s cute, huh, Gladion?” Guzma cackled. “See, I’m always thinking of my boys. You think it was a coincidence that I put you on guard duty for a cute girl?”

“You’re very benevolent,” Gladion muttered back. “Didn’t you say it was because you wanted to keep her safe?”

“I do want to keep her safe. And you have!” Guzma snickered. “Though you haven’t kept her _pure_.”

“God damn it, Guzma, I didn’t–”

“It’s down here.” Guzma motioned ahead.

Eventually the hallway ended in a spiral staircase heading down. There were no lights and no indication of how far down it went. Gladion followed Guzma into the dark. Why they were descending into this part of the mansion was anyone’s guess. Gladion knew there was a storage area in the basement. The lift should have been fixed by now, though.

_Should have. Knowing these goons, it’s probably been left broken._

“Fucking shit,” Guzma swore, a metal object skittering about in the dark. “I stepped on a fucking nail.”

The man’s large body was invisible even though it was right in front of him. Gladion took each step carefully, his hand running along the railing. His heart was beating fast for some reason, his muscles screaming out that they wanted to flee. A budding anxiety, one with no clear source or cause.

“You know why I formed Team Skull, Gladion?” Guzma asked, his voice low and serious.

“To make money and meet women?” Gladion retorted. Guzma laughed, his voice echoing off the walls.

They reached the bottom of the staircase and Guzma threw open the large metal door. They were below ground in the main section of the basement. They both stepped into the room. Kaipo stood inside, his face illuminated by the hazy glow of a handful of incandescent lights. Boxes filled the room and one corner held some large object hidden under a tarp.

“That’s also very accurate, but there’s more to it than that,” Guzma responded. “There’s so much more to it. See, I just received a forward payment on a very, very important transaction. We haven’t quite hammered out the details of how much the final payment will be, but…”

Gladion bristled. He had to mean Luna.

“I want you to be there during the exchange,” Guzma said, “if only to–”

“I’m not dealing with Lusamine!” Gladion stepped back, then his heart sank as he realized what he’d just said. Kaipo raised an eyebrow as he observed their exchange.

“Lusamine?” Guzma turned back to him. The man smiled. “You’re sharp, huh? Yeah, Lusamine’s the one paying us. It’s a bigger payday than we’ve ever gotten before. However, you don’t need to worry about dealing with her directly. Your mother isn’t interested in seeing you.”

Gladion didn’t respond.

“No, we’re exchanging with that queer Faba.” Guzma sat on one of the boxes. “Lusamine’s not exactly the type to do the dirty work on her own, you know?”

“Why do you want me to be there?” Gladion asked, keeping his voice cool, despite his heart literally trying to leap out of his chest.

Guzma walked to the corner of the room where the large tarp lay over some large pallets. The leader of Team Skull grabbed the tarp and pulled.

When he saw what was underneath, his heartbeat stopped and time slowed.

Several pallets lay along the floor, a mountain of guns piled on top of them. There was pokemon armor too: metallic claw extensions, headplates, and a whole other assortment of weaponry designed for pokemon to use. A whole pallet was dedicated just to ammo. Shotgun shells, pistol rounds, rifle rounds. Enough to supply an entire military battalion.

“What…” Gladion finally breathed out, realizing he’d been holding his breath.

“Beautiful ain’t it?” Guzma slapped Gladion on the back. “It’s my new project, one that we’re gonna need a whole shitload of capital to finish. And when we do, we’re not gonna need the Aether Foundation’s backing anymore.”

“I don’t understand,” Gladion said quietly.

“You don’t need to,” Guzma shrugged. “Once this deal is done, we’ll finally finish things with Nanu and Team Skull will be rising up to bigger and better things.”

“Like what?”

“Like what I always mean when I say that.” Guzma’s eyes were wide, like a dog frothing at the mouth as it struggled against its chains. “We’re all gonna be rich men, and our payout from Lusamine is gonna be just the beginning. Oh man, just the beginning. We’re gonna be worldwide, kiddo. We’re gonna do what nobody’s ever done before.”

Gladion stared up at Guzma, unable to bring himself to speak.


	13. Part I: Lillie VIII

“We’re back!” Acerola pushed the front door open with one finger, leaning heavily on it as she checked inside. A quick look around and Acerola hopped in, kicking off her muddy sneakers. Lillie followed, staring holes into the paneled wood floor.

“I guess they’re not back yet,” Lillie mumbled. Acerola nodded in affirmation, running to Ilima’s room and peeking inside. Lillie stared after the girl for a moment, then grabbed the new pokeball from her belt.

Pichu.

It had only been hers for a few hours. A second pokemon.

“I can barely handle the first...” Lillie whined, snapping the ball back onto her belt with no small amount of frustration. Acerola padded back over, swaying her arms with every step, her bare feet making barely any noise on the wooden floor.

“They must have stepped out. I didn’t think they were going anywhere,” Acerola said as she brushed past, the soft fabric of her shirt running along Lillie’s arm. “I’m gonna raid the fridge. Want anything?”

“Uh… no, I think...” Lillie patted her stomach, a sudden ravenous urge sprouting in her. She hadn’t even realized she was hungry. “Actually yes, please.”

It wasn’t long later that Lillie sprawled out on the couch, the pichu’s ball in hand, her stomach full with a bowl of quickly-made poke. The raw fish, while very tasty, could never rival the taste of the poke bowls she’d get with Professor Kukui, of course. But it was good enough.

“I didn’t realize there was a market near here.” Lillie stretched, her stomach arcing over the couch cushions. Acerola sat on the floor, one hand absently batting at her ghastly floating above her. “That fish was fresh.”

“Oh, there’s no market.” Acerola giggled as the ghastly swallowed her hand whole and she waved the entire pokemon about. “Ilima has a boat tied up at the pier nearby. He’ll go out fishing when he’s bored or stressed or whatever.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. And I say ‘pier’, but it’s not that impressive. Just a tiny stone and wood thing the guys who live around here all tie their boats at.”

“A house and a boat, huh? I guess that’s what growing up rich can get you.” Lillie scratched at a small dent in the pichu’s pokeball.

“He didn’t pay for them, if that’s what you’re wondering.” Acerola snickered as she pulled her hand from the ghastly’s mouth. A nearly transparent layer of purple slime covered it. “Ilima’s dad cut him off when he became a trainer and started the challenge. The house was given to him by the previous trial captain, and we actually found the boat together back in the day.”

“Wow. That’s right, you mentioned that you and Ilima did the challenge together.”

“Up to a point.”

“Where’d you find the boat?” Lillie turned around, one arm draping lazily over the armrest of the couch.

“Ula`Ula Island. It was abandoned outside the ruined town, some ways up the coast. It was right before...” Acerola paused. “It was right before the ghost trial, actually.”

Acerola stopped suddenly, then dismissed her ghastly back into its pokeball. She stood, putting her hands on her hips and cocking an eyebrow at Lillie.

“W-What’s up?” Lillie shot up suddenly as Acerola looked at her.

“Ilima told you where he was raised? That he was a prissy little rich boy?” Acerola’s expression was blank, her eyebrows somewhat slanted. In anger or because she was thinking, Lillie couldn’t tell. “Let me be honest, Lillie, this whole situation confuses me. Knowing Ilima the way I do, none of this makes sense, except if...”

“Ace?”

Acerola grit her teeth. Lillie swallowed, uncertain.

“Are you dating Ilima?” Acerola asked, her expression dead serious.

Lillie opened her mouth, but it took a long while for the words to actually form, the confusion grinding the wheels in her head to a halt.

“What?”

* * *

Acerola listened to Lillie’s story quietly, nodding every once in a while, asking a clarifying question rarely, but most often staying silent. She sat cross-legged on the floor, her hands clutched together under her chin. Lillie had pulled on her white hoodie, wrapping it tight around herself as the air grew colder and a chilly wind blew.

She started with running away, hoping Acerola would not asking too many questions about _why_ she was running from her parents, or who her parents were. She talked about living with Kukui, about going to the trainer school briefly, about Luna, about catching Koa and getting injured, about learning Kukui was in communication with her mother, and then running away again.

The trial challenge was her only way of disappearing for a while, and Ilima had almost not let her undertake it.

Acerola absorbed it all, and when Lillie finally finished her story, the girl sat there thinking for what Lillie felt was an eternity.

_I didn’t mention that I was running away from one of the richest and most powerful women in the entirety of Alola, and I didn’t mention Nebby or my brother. To Ace, I should just be a stupid teenager who made an emotional decision._

“Is there any part of you that wants to go back? To your parents?” Acerola finally asked, staring right into Lillie’s eyes.

“No.” Lillie said without hesitation. “I miss Kukui. I miss the trainer school. I miss the life I had there, but I would rather lose all of that than risk going back to my mom.”

Acerola nodded again. “Sorry if it seemed like I was accusing you. Truth be told, the clothes that Ilima gave you were actually mine, so I guess I let my mind wander.” The older girl laughed, somewhat uncomfortably, one hand behind her head, embarrassed.

“They were y-yours?” Acerola blushed, stumbling over her words. “I can… I can give them back! Sorry! I really didn’t mean to–”

“No, no, it’s okay.” Acerola smiled. “Keep them. It doesn’t seem like you brought a lot with you anyway. I can root around for some of the other stuff Ilima might still have if you need something else to wear. Your white hoodie is cute on you, but you can’t wear it every day in Alolan heat.”

“It uh,” Lillie was fully aware of how red her face had become, “it was a gift from Kukui. The hat too, actually.”

Acerola smiled, a soft expression shadowed just barely by the light of the soon-to-be setting sun.

An hour later, Lillie had gone back to laying about on the couch, her hoodie wrapped tightly around her chest, her bare legs and feet hanging off the other edge. She could hear Acerola digging through Ilima’s room only a few meters away, the girl occasionally grunting with the effort of moving something large, or making a disgusted or confused scoff.

 _The two of them must be very close._ Lillie thought to herself, feeling her eyes close. _I’d never be able to just dig through a boy’s room like that._

A heavy, masculine sigh. “What are you doing, Ace?”

Lillie’s eyes shot open. Hau gazed down at her, a marker inches from Lillie’s face. The two novice trainers stared at each other for a long moment.

“Did you really think you’d be able to mark my face without waking me up?” Lillie asked, her voice expressionless, her gaze locked with Hau’s.

“It’s less _‘I think’_ and more _‘I know’_ now,” Hau replied, his face erupting into a grin.

“ _What?_ ” Lillie shot up, brushing Hau’s hand away and bolting for the bathroom. Hau skittered away, cackling in amusement. Lillie frantically flipped the light switch in the bathroom, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

No markings.

“Hau, you _insufferable_ little brat, I–” Lillie gripped the door to the bathroom as she turned back into the living room. She paused in the doorway, her attention stolen by Ilima and Acerola standing at the entrance to Ilima’s room.

Acerola leaned against the doorway, a small bundle of girl’s clothes in her arms. Ilima stood over her, his arms folded and his expression very much unamused. Acerola, on the other hand, was grinning evilly.

They were close, merely inches apart.

“You took really good care of them for me, huh?” Acerola’s voice was playful, but with a hidden edge lurking just beneath the surface. “They were nice and folded and washed. Perfect for handing out to little girls that come wandering in from the wilderness.”

“I didn’t force you to leave your clothes here,” Ilima defended himself with his usual cool and calm voice. “I took care of them for you.”

“It’s been two years. Funny how I never got a text or anything like ‘hey, I still have a pair or two of your panties lying around, come get them’.” Acerola’s voice was light and cheery, but her smiling expression was like a dagger.

Lillie felt her breath catch. The two guys weren’t unaffected by Acerola’s comment either. Hau’s face turned bright red and he quickly turned about, making his way towards the back lanai and the sand as if he hadn’t heard anything at all. Even Ilima raised his eyebrows, a slight hint of redness in his cheeks. The trial captain looked to Hau, then at Lillie for a moment, before turning back to Acerola.

“You didn’t leave your…!” Ilima sighed again heavily, collecting himself. “Even if I had sent you a text saying I still had some of your clothes, would you have even gotten them? It’s one thing if we lived down the road from each other. However, we live on opposite ends of the island chain, and both of us relatively removed from nearby civilization.”

“Uh-huh.” Acerola huffed, squaring her shoulders and walking past Ilima. The black-haired girl smiled at Lillie as she got closer. “Come on, Lillie. Let’s find some stuff that fits you.”

“Stay out of my room next time!” Ilima growled after her. Acerola laughed.

“Not like there’s anything in there I haven’t seen before.”

Acerola pulled Lillie into the girl’s bedroom, snickering the whole way.

* * *

Koa looked up at Lillie, then back at the stack of clothes that had been thrown haphazardly on Lillie’s bed. The bagon had wandered around the room when Lillie let him out of his ball, sniffing most of the objects present. Eventually the pokemon had jumped up onto Lillie’s bed, nestling himself near Lillie’s pillow, his nose pressed deep into her bedsheets.

“Oh my god you’re adorable,” Acerola stepped back, looking Lillie up and down. The blonde girl blushed at the close examination. Acerola had forced her into a pair of black shorts and a long, white halter top. It left her shoulders and upper back exposed, and Lillie pawed at the edges of the shirt in uncertainty.

“It’s a bit more daring than I’m used to,” Lillie protested, but Acerola waved her concerns off.

“It looks good. It’s not skimpy if that’s what you’re worried about.” Acerola spun Lillie around really quick. “This sort of thing would be convenient for a good day outdoors or walking along the beach, though you’d be better off with your jacket if you’re gonna be hiking into the mountains.”

 _Not skimpy, she says._ Lillie ran her hand along her mid-back, where the fabric ended. _My mother would kill me if she saw me wearing this._

Lillie grinned.

“See how it feels. There’s a couple other things here too if you wanna try those out.” Acerola sniffed the air. “I think I smell Ilima cooking something up. C’mon!”

Acerola half-pulled, half-dragged Lillie out of her room. Lillie protested at first, but then went along with it. There was no way she’d be able to fight against Acerola’s energy anyway. Better to just go with the flow. Koa followed along behind them, sniffing Lillie’s heels.

“What’s for dinner?” Acerola ran up to Ilima, a frying pan cooking something on the stove behind him. “Probably can’t be fish, since I ate the rest of what you had.”

“You’ll see,” Ilima looked up at Lillie and paused for a moment. “You look good. That’s an outfit Ace would wear a lot back when we were doing the trial challenge.”

“Yeah and I never knew what happened to it until today,” Acerola grinned. “C’mon Lillie! I want to show you something!”

Lillie sighed, letting Acerola lead her around again. All day, every day.

It was comforting, in a sense.

* * *

Lillie watched the orange clouds far beneath the falling sun, their reflections shimmering in the water far out to sea. To her side on the lanai, Ilima was lecturing Acerola about something – exactly what it was had slipped her mind, probably to do with her invading his room. Koa was trudging through the sand, kicking his legs about and staring at ephemeral clouds he created with every swing, his large, fanged mouth hanging open with a childlike exuberance. The bagon had enjoyed Ilima’s dinner more than anyone else, it seemed, and had been playing in the sand ever since.

Her pichu’s ball shone in the dying light, the red and white of the standard pokeball starting to dull as sunset approached. In the far distance – up the mountain, probably – she heard the defiant screeching of a toucannon, a faint sound nearly obscured by all the rest of the noise.

Swirls of clouds wafted faint and fleeting tendrils down towards the horizon, their ridges illuminated and obscured, off and on in turn, by the end of the daylight. The light weaved through the atmosphere, dragging the air behind it along as it descended. Far above she thought she could see small shapes dark to and fro, so distant that they were but specks between her and the brilliant sheen of the sky. They must have been bird pokemon, playing about with no care to consider but their own freedom.

She reached a hand up, her skin dark in contrast to the sky as she stared from down below. If only she could fly too, to join those pokemon as they darted and dashed in the cold and the bright and the wet of distant clouds. When she lowered her hand she noticed Koa staring up at the clouds too, his head tilted back as far as his short and stumpy neck would allow, his mouth clenched as if in protest of his own earthbound nature.

Bagons throw themselves from cliffs, risking death and permanent injury, just for that fleeting moment of freedom.

“Not unlike what I’ve done,” Lillie walked to her pokemon, sitting cross-legged beside it, “and what I must do.”

Gently she stroked the back of Koa’s head and her pokemon turned to her, his eyes big and mournful. Lillie smiled at him, pointed one hand back into the air. He followed her gaze to those dark, darting shapes, still there, flying to and fro.

“One day, Koa,” she promised him, “one day it’s going to be us up there.”

Her bagon continued to stare, gazing at a dream far distant and long held.

After a while she stood, leaving her pokemon to his contemplation, and brushing the back of her pants down to get rid of the sand. Hau was pointing out over the ocean, murmuring something to Poppy and nodding enthusiastically. She looked past the two of them, behind them where Ilima’s house stood at the border of sand and grass.

Lillie felt her heart stop.

Ilima leaned in close to Acerola, his lips pressing against hers. The ghost-trainer looked shocked for a moment before giving in to it. One hand ran up his shirt, gripping tight near his collar as the two embraced. She felt the emotion all at once, less a wave and more a wall. There was a burst of confusion, of anger, then trepidation, and finally a quick resignation, all playing out in the back of her mind as she struggled to comprehend the scene in front of her.

After what seemed like forever, Acerola jerked away from Ilima, turning away suddenly. One hand was clasped to her chest, the other to her lips. She looked at Ilima with shock. Lillie watched as tears came to her mentor’s face quickly and suddenly, how she brushed away one almost in disbelief, before rushing into the house.

Ilima didn’t as much as budge to go after her.


	14. Part I: Acerola II

“So you nearly got her killed.” Ilima sighed, sipping on a glass of iced tea. They both were on the porch again, relaxing just like how they used to two years before. The sun was starting its long descending path as their two students rested out on the sand, Hau chattering at his popplio and Lillie standing with her bagon.

“Yeah, well, you know me.” Acerola grinned up at him. She lay with her head flat against the wood of the patio. Years ago she would have rested her head on his lap, or his on hers, but now she was very careful about keeping just the right distance away. “Always choosing the worst option.”

Lillie spoke softly, too softly for them to hear, and Koa lowered his head. The girl patted his head, hesitantly at first, but then more confidently. The pokemon squirmed just a bit, but otherwise remained calm. Hard to think that just a month or so earlier, that pokemon had bitten a chunk out of the girl’s leg.

“They’re both getting better,” Ilima observed. Hau was running along the water, Poppy splashing alongside him, zipping through the shallow surf. “I wouldn’t have expected Lillie to make the improvements that she has.”

“Three days, huh?” Acerola sighed. “I wish I learned that fast. Took me three whole attempts to beat the first trial. You were done your first time around.”

“And I waited for you,” Ilima chuckled at that, “which I might as well not have done, considering you finished the Island Challenge way before me.”

“You were dumb,” Acerola said, shrugging.

She gazed up at the rafters above the porch. Tiny spiderwebs where baby spinarak had lay their webs ran along two of the beams. Ilima continued to watch the sunset. It was just like it used to be.

Almost.

“The movement needs you, Ace.” She cringed. It was bound to happen eventually. Of course he’d bring it up again. It was only a matter of time.

“You know why I won’t join you guys,” Acerola sat up, all pretense of relaxation gone. She looked back at the man she used to know so well. “You should understand–”

“No, Ace, I don’t.” Ilima sighed, shaking his head. Acerola maneuvered herself into a cross-legged position, her back flat against a wooden beam. Out of the corner of her right eye she could see Lillie leaning over Koa, pointing something out to the pokemon, who stared intently after her finger.

“I won’t be used as a political tool,” Acerola snapped, harsher than she intended. She meant it, but perhaps not quite like that. Ilima turned to her, his expression neutral. If he was hurt, he certainly would never show it.

“Your bloodline is sacred to the Alolan people, Ace,” Ilima kept his voice low and very, very calm, “and you have the potential of uniting all of us. If there was ever a time to save Alola, to free us from Unova–”

“That’s enough, Ilima!” She stood, feeling hot blood rush to her face and she bit back a scowl. She glanced to the two trainers out on the sand, but neither of them had noticed her small outburst. Ilima stood next to her, stepping in close.

“No, it isn’t.” Ilima leaned in close to her, his face only a small distance from hers. Acerola bit her lip, looking away.

“I don’t care what you say, Ilima,” Acerola pushed him back a few inches, “I don’t care what my bloodline is or who my ancestors were. I’m an Unovan. This country belongs to Unova. Our infrastructure wouldn’t exist without Unova. Our people wouldn’t have the quality of life that they do without Unova.”

“Ace.” Ilima shook his head. She knew she was angering him, but she wasn’t going to relent, and it wasn’t like he was going to either. “The last queen would turn over in her grave if she heard you say such a thing. Do you have no respect for your heritage? For your blood? For your people?”

“I guess not,” Acerola bit back at him. Ilima stepped towards her again.

“Then what about me?” Ilima said. He was so close to her. She could feel his breath on her cheek. “What about your respect for me?”

“You know that I respect–”

“These last few years,” Ilima said, his voice suddenly weaker, losing that painful neutrality he had cultivated for so long, if only for just a moment. “I’ve always thought about you. I’ve always wanted to ask you to come back, to try and make things right.”

“Bullshit,” Acerola spat, but she felt her heart hammering in her chest regardless. “Even if Lillie’s talented, the only you could have for taking her in is because she’s cute. Don’t act like–”

“Lillie?” Ilima’s face changed. Genuine confusion. “Ace, I took in Lillie because she’s a runaway that won’t go home even if it meant starving alone in the woods.”

“Even besides that, you don’t even care about me,” Acerola protested, “The only reason you want me back is because I’m related to–”

Ilima leaned in, pressing his lips against hers. His hand cupped her cheek. Acerola recoiled with surprise before instinct kicked in. She closed her eyes, kissing him back, running her hand along his shirt until it found a convenient place to grab. For just a second she forgot why she’d walked away in a flurry of politics and bloodlines two years ago.

For just a second.

He let her go and she realized she was crying.

“You’re trying to manipulate me,” Acerola said, pushing him away, one hand over her mouth. She was shaking, a sudden upwell of a sob running through her, stopping just before release, “and you can’t even say that you aren’t.”

Fighting back more tears, she stepped around Ilima and into the house, leaving him behind her.

* * *

Acerola rushed through the house, trying to stem her crying. She couldn’t let the others see her like this. She couldn’t. Without even thinking about it, she threw open the door to Lillie’s room, collapsing on her bed, head in hands.

_Why did I come back here?_

“I’m such an idiot,” Acerola mumbled to herself, her voice broken occasionally by the sobs.

“Ace!” Lillie called from the living room. Acerola froze, a sudden trepidation filling her.

_No, I don’t want her to–_

Acerola stood just as the door to the room opened, staring at the petite blonde girl, her expression a mixture of confusion and concern. Suddenly Acerola was very aware of the sounds of the coming night ringing through the screen window: the gentle notes of the Froakie’s calls.

“Ace?” A gentle, meek voice. It was all Lillie could manage, apparently. Acerola looked back at Lillie. “Ace, are you okay?”

“I’m…” She turned around. “I’m fine.”

Acerola choked out a sob. If there was ever any proof that Acerola was lying, there it was. A few tears ran down her face. Lillie closed the door behind her, ushering Acerola to sit at the edge of Lillie’s bed, one hand stroking the girl’s back very gently.

“I’m sorry,” Acerola apologized. She brushed away her tears with the back of her hands, leaving long wet streaks on her face. “I’m supposed to be your mentor, and I…” She trailed off.

“It’s okay,” Lillie’s voice was soft and calm. The other girl sat there for a long moment, rubbing Acerola’s back. Acerola considered the girl as she tried to calm her own crying down. Lillie had always seemed so small – she was taller than Acerola by an inch or two, but the girl didn’t seem to take up much space at all. She was so skinny it was like she barely ate at all – from the way Lillie had described running away from home, it was entirely possible.

A meek, entirely unassuming girl, with no apparent talents or abilities. She was bright, maybe, but didn’t seem too interested in showing it often. And yet, these last few days, Lillie had done nothing but impress her.

 _I was an idiot._ Acerola stared miserably at the ground. _I put her through every challenge I possibly could. I dragged her after a toucannon and nearly got her killed. I got her a second pokemon when she can barely handle her first. And she rose to every challenge._

Acerola looked up at the blonde girl, who smiled softly back at her.

“I’ve been such a shitty mentor to you,” Acerola said, looking away.

“That’s not true.”

_She’s more promising than I ever was when I started out._

They sat together in silence for many long minutes, the time between each of Acerola’s gentle sobs growing more and more infrequent. Thoughts whirled around Acerola’s mind. About Ilima, about Lillie. Eventually Acerola sighed, the crying stopping completely, and the girl wiped the wetness from her face.

Acerola remembered the panic she’d felt when the toucannon had fired a shot right at Lillie, she remembered the relief overwhelming her when the girl turned out okay. She had flung herself onto Lillie then too. The bandages still wrapped around her own fingers, a reminder of her mistake. Burns that would leave scars for a long, long time.

“Really, I’m sorry,” Acerola repeated, her voice barely a whisper.

“He kissed you?” Lillie said. The words stung somewhat, embarrassment sitting at the edges of Acerola’s thoughts. “Don’t worry, Hau was facing the other way. He didn’t see anything.”

“Thank god,” Acerola coughed out a relieved laugh. “At least one person in the house doesn’t know what’s going on.”

Lillie lowered her arm, withdrawing it from Acerola’s back and clasping her hands together in her lap, staring at the floor. Acerola leaned over, resting her head against Lillie’s shoulder. Acerola snaked an arm along Lillie’s, gently prying her hands apart.

Lillie’s breath grew shorter, just barely. Acerola glanced up at the girl – she was blushing. Acerola smiled.

_Not used to being close to people. Poor girl._

Acerola’s breathing occasionally shuddered from the remnants of her crying, and she squeezed Lillie’s hand gently each time.

“Ilima and I have a history,” Acerola finally said, sighing heavily. “I don’t want to burden you with the story, but it’s largely the reason why I reacted the way I did.”

“It’s okay,” Lillie squeezed her hand back. “I don’t mind. You can tell me anything you want.”

Lillie fiddled with one of Acerola’s fingers, the other girl running her thumb over Acerola’s chipped and old nail polish. Her skin was soft, her hands delicate and slender. A gilded cage upbringing, maybe? Lillie’s hands were much too soft for her to have spent much time outdoors.

“Ah!” Acerola stood suddenly, withdrawing from Lillie and walking away a few steps. “I’m sorry, I’m doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“Touching,” Acerola wrung her hands, “I’m always doing this. I get excited or distressed and I just latch onto people. I only met you a few days ago. I can’t just be cuddling up next to you like that.”

“It’s fine, Ace.”

“No,” Acerola shook her head. “No, it isn’t.”

Nevertheless, Acerola found herself missing it.

Acerola stood in the dark, her hands gripping the sides of her black dress. For a long while she stared at Lillie, working her story through her head. Finally she sighed, shaking her head.

“Do you really want to hear about what happened?” Acerola asked. “I feel like I’d be imposing my problems onto you.”

“Don’t worry about that, Ace.”

Acerola sighed, sitting back on the bed. Further away this time. She put her head in her hands, staring at the hardwood floors. Acerola hesitated again before finally speaking, her voice unsteady and uncertain.

“I… I guess I’ll tell you then. About what happened between us.”

Acerola leaned forward, fingers locked together and her gaze steady. She was only lightly sniffling now, the wetness long gone from her eyes. She wanted Lillie wanted to reach out to her, to extend a hand and support her, but found herself unable to justify it.

_Even telling her this is selfish._

Finally, after several long moments of waiting, Acerola started to speak.

“We met over three years ago. My dad took me to Melemele to do my trial and I’d just run off without telling anyone where I was going. I thought being a pokemon trainer and taking the Trial Challenge meant that I could be my own person, that I could go wherever I want. And sure, it’s only temporary, but I was fixated. I wanted that freedom. I needed it.

“Of course, first thing I did when I got to the island was get into trouble. Found myself out in the forest with just my sandygast. It was just a yungoos that attacked me, but my poor little ghost-type couldn’t do anything to protect me. I screamed and ran, not knowing what to do. I was terrified – of a yungoos, can you imagine?

“I wound up trapped, pressed against a tree. Sandy was nowhere to be found – I thought he’d run off and abandoned me – but I wasn’t going to go down without a fight. I picked up a rock and, when the yungoos leapt at me, I slammed it down on its head as hard as I could.

“But I was just a little girl, you know? I hurt the bastard, but I just made him angrier. He started gnashing and howling in a way I’d never seen any pokemon before. He bit me, leaving a long gash on my arm – you can still see a hint of it here, if you look hard enough – and I dropped that rock and started to cry.

“And then there he was. Shouting and yelling and waving his arms. He looked ridiculous. A boy – that’s what he was back then. Don’t get me wrong, he’s gotten a lot taller since then. A boy just waving his arms and trying his damnedest to make himself look scary. The yungoos didn’t buy it, of course. It attacked him instead of me and Ilima turned tail and ran away screaming.

“If I wasn’t so shocked, I would have broken down laughing. The yungoos chased him in a circle for a good minute. A minute! And I just kind stared at them both, baffled, while I tried to figure out what was going on. Eventually though I got to my senses and I stamped my foot and yelled ‘If you’re gonna protect me, at least do a good job of it!’

“This had an effect, at least. Ilima turned around, smiled that awkward smile at me, and threw a pokeball.”

Lillie recoiled in shock and started to ask: “You don’t mean that was–”

“Yup! The very same yungoos he has now. Little bastard warmed up to me eventually. It was Ilima’s second pokemon. Apparently Ilima had left his Smeargle with his dad for whatever reason. I can’t even remember why. And maybe I was impressed just a little, you know? I called him an idiot but I thanked him for saving me. Then I found my sandygast and we parted ways.

“I didn’t think I’d see him again, but then he showed up right here at this house. It was owned by the previous Trial Captain back then. Ilima told me he’d run away from home to do the Trial Challenge.”

Lillie laughed. “That sounds familiar,” she interjected.

“I know, right!” Acerola giggled with her for a moment. “You know, you remind me a lot of him when he was younger. He was meek, but he was strong when he had to be. He knew what he wanted and he went out and got it, even if he was terrified to all hell of what that meant. Back then he… he had a bad relationship with his dad. Ilima and I would fight over that, you know? I love my Daddy, even if he’s an idiot sometimes – or all the times. However, even the thought of someone talking positively about their parents would set Ilima off. He’d sulk and sulk and I’d have to find him and calm him down.

“He said he fell in love with me that first day he met me, when he saved me. I told him he was an idiot to believe in love at first sight. Then I told him I fell in love that first day too.”

Acerola choked up for a moment, but it passed quickly.

“Sorry. I’ve had a long time to process things. If he hadn’t… if he hadn’t kissed me earlier, I could have told this story without any problems. I wouldn’t get emotional. But right now – god, it’s frustrating, you know? I was such an idiot to be so blind to what was going to happen. Thinking about it now just makes me feel mad at myself.

“He found out early on that I was descended of Alolan royalty – you know, the monarchs that were invaded by and taken over by Unova? – and I could tell this raised his opinion of me by a lot. He insisted on sticking by me during the Island Challenge. I thought it was because he was in love with me and I thought it would be fine to humor him, you know? He was the obnoxious type about it. He would always lavish me with attention and I’d shove him off and push him away and insult him while secretly enjoying the whole damn thing.

“We didn’t really have any problems until… until the ghost trial. I’m the captain of that now and I changed the trial conditions the first thing I took the office. Back then the trial was brutal. The totem pokemon is no longer around – it’s the excuse I used to the Trial Committee when I changed things – but back then it was a gengar that would feast on your fears and nightmares. You would dream of loss and pain, of sacrificing everything, of having everything torn from your grasp. Ilima went under its hypnosis to do the trial and he... he came out different. I don’t know what he saw that changed him, but he was harsher, more distant, more calculating. I tried to help him, to get him to talk about what he saw, but he insisted nothing was different.

“He became obsessed with Alolan sovereignty. I mean, he always was. It’s his heritage. He loves his people, even if he was ‘just a commoner’ as he put it. But it consumed him. He started talking to me about how he wanted me to become a leader for the Kanaka Maoli, to bring back the Ali`i under my leadership. I was just a girl who wanted to become a powerful trainer, you know? I didn’t care about politics. I went along with it at first because I didn’t know what to do otherwise but…

“Eventually I just couldn’t. I ran out on an important meeting between Ilima and the Kahunas. They wanted to elevate me to some sort of political position and present me to the Unovan government with terms of Alolan Independence. There were people asking questions I couldn’t answer, asking if this could start a war. I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want anything to do with it. So I left. I told him it was because I just wanted to get back to doing the Island Challenge, and that was true, but it wasn’t the whole truth. I finished the Trial Challenge without him and we, well, we didn’t really speak after that. I don’t know what’s been going on with that movement since then.

“When he called me back here, he said it was because he had two trainers with potential and didn’t want to prioritize one over the other. I had hoped that was the real reason, but… it wasn’t. He wants the same thing he did back then, like nothing has changed at all.”

“Do you still love him?” Lillie asked.

“I…” Acerola clenched her jaw. “No. Not the way I did. He was so important to me that I imagine it will be a long time before I forget him, but I don’t love him like I used to. It’s been almost two years. People move on.”

_And even though I say that, I…_

“I was jealous of you, you know?” Acerola found herself admitting. The fact that she even said it surprised her, but she kept going. “I thought Ilima only took you in because… because you were pretty. I realize now he did it because he knew you had nowhere else to go, but I… God, I’m such an idiot.”

“Ace...”

“I’m sorry, Lillie. I’m sorry I judged you like that.”

Lillie didn’t respond, and it seemed she considered the story carefully. Acerola found herself blushing despite herself. It was a lot to put on the table.

“Ace,” Lillie started. Acerola looked up at her. “I don’t think you have anything to apologize for.”

The younger girl wrapped Acerola into a hug, pulling her in close. Acerola sighed, letting it happen. A single, nagging thought tugged at the back of her mind.

_Ilima took a girl in off the streets because she had nowhere else to go? It makes no sense at all._

Acerola closed her eyes, listening to Lillie’s soft breathing.

_It makes no sense at all._


	15. Part I: Gladion V

“You’re scowling, Gladion,” Luna looked up at her, wide open eyes staring at him, into him. Gladion stood in the doorway, merely a few feet away, but he felt a thousand miles distant.

 _Guzma is selling her to Lusamine._ Gladion clenched his fists. _For military_ _equipment_ _?_

“Gladion?”

_Why?_

“Gladion!” Cool hands pressed against his cheeks, forcing him out of his thoughts. Luna looked up at him, smiling. “Relax. It’s okay.”

“What is?” Gladion mumbled, gently lowering her hands. “Finish getting dressed. We don’t have a lot of time until Faba gets here.”

Luna nodded, twirling about and running back to Gladion’s bed, swiping a Team Skull Beret from his pillow. She affixed it, then straightened out the somewhat wrinkly tanktop she’d be given. If he didn’t know any better, she’d be just another Team Skull member.

Luna grinned at him as she walked past.

_You’re not even aware of what’s going to happen to you._

A medical test subject at best. At worst, a guinea pig for those _things_. The ones that still haunted his dreams. The dark hands that stretched down to grab at Lillie. Gladion followed behind Luna, his gaze fixed on the floor, watching Luna’s ankles as she stepped lightly through the dilapidated mansion halls. It wasn’t a long walk to the main hall, and he found himself slowing as he got nearer.

“Gladion,” she said, stopping him just outside the door to the entryway. “Relax. It’ll all be okay.”

Gladion grit his teeth, turning away from her, and opened the door.

“About damn time!” Guzma’s rough, jovial voice.

Gladion scowled when he saw the familiar blond man standing in the entrance of Guzma’s mansion. Guzma himself was already back to arguing with the newcomer, likely about money, while two Aether Foundation enforcers stood a good way back. Kaipo and Yuri were behind Guzma, hands on their belts. Luna trailed behind Gladion, her steps softly mirroring his own.

One of her hands gripped the back of his jacket, pulling down lightly.

 _Don’t cling to me now._ Gladion clenched his fists. _I never had a choice in this._

When Faba finally noticed Gladion, the man stood straight, glaring at him down his long, thin nose. His blue eyes shone with contempt behind his bright green glasses. His lab coat was freshly pressed and pristine, though his boots were stained with Po Town’s signature mud. Gladion smirked at that – he knew Faba was probably seething internally about it.

It was the only imperfection.

“You’re still here, huh?” Faba scoffed. “Beasts belong with beasts, I suppose.”

“Then it’s good you’re still working with Lusamine,” Gladion growled at him. Faba’s eyes widened at the indignity. Luna stood next to Gladion, glaring suspiciously at the man in the labcoat. “My mother couldn’t come here on her own? She had to send her grunts?” Faba stiffened at the word _grunt_.

“I’ll remind you that you still possess stolen property, _boy_ ,” Faba spat. “The only reason the Foundation hasn’t come down hard on you is because of Lusamine’s benevolent generosity.”

At this Gladion scoffed.

“This situation is one that she has allowed, make no mistake, so don’t think you’re being clever or careful. She’s not going to force her children back to her, especially not when you’ve both disappointed her so.”

“Both?” Gladion asked. “Lillie finally worked up enough backbone to fight back, huh?” _Surprising._

“She, much like yourself, has stolen valuable property and escaped,” Faba said.

_News to me._

“And all the might of Aether Foundation can’t even bring a fourteen year old girl back home, huh?” Gladion laughed at that. “What are all those billions of dollars for, Faba? You can buy little girls off the black market, but you can’t even get a lost one to come home.”

Luna’s grip on Gladion’s jacket grew tighter.

“You spoiled _child_ ,” Faba spat, stepping forward, “if you understood even _slightly_ the dangers of our research–”

“Alright, enough.” Guzma held one hand out, moving between the two, his voice calm and slow. Faba paused. “We’re here to negotiate a business deal, not fuck around with family drama.”

Faba looked at Gladion for a long while, his eyes narrow, before nodding. Gladion remembered the faces behind the glass, the many scientists that would gaze into his room, jotting notes before walking away. Faba was one of those faces once.

In his mind he heard Lillie screaming again, a desperate, visceral call for help.

“Let’s see her then,” Faba said, gesturing to Luna.

Luna backed away, her other hand gripping Gladion’s black jacket as she ducked behind him. Guzma rolled his eyes and motioned for Gladion to hurry up. Gladion turned to her, gently prying her off. Her hands gripped his. He opened his mouth to speak, to tell her it was okay, to go over to Faba.

He couldn’t.

She looked up at him, uncertainty in her pale gray eyes.

_Do you finally understand now?_

Gladion sighed.

“What exactly does Lusamine want with her?” Gladion demanded, turning back to Faba. Guzma pocketed his hands and backed away from the two of them, examining the situation. Gladion felt a cold chill run through him as Guzma examined the two of them.

_This could be a really bad idea._

“Research,” Faba responded. “Something you should be familiar with considering what you stole from us.”

“Null didn’t deserve what he went through there.”

“Your Type: Null wouldn’t even _exist_ if it wasn’t for us,” Faba bristled, storming over to Gladion. The researcher grabbed the front of his jacket, pulling him close. Blue eyes filled with anger locked with Gladion’s, the lines of Faba’s face deepening behind those bright green shades.

He looked old, his skin weary and lined. Black circles under his eyes, cleverly obscured by makeup, were now visible when seen this close. Then man had aged ten years in the two years since Gladion had seen him last.

“Your point?” Gladion snapped back. “You guys created Null as a weapon, so what the hell are you planning to do with Luna? Another weapon? Another lab rat?”

Faba paused for a moment.

Gladion recalled the trashed room, the furniture broken in half and discarded easily around the room. The ring of glass surrounding Luna as she stared up at the ceiling. He never did find out what caused the carnage, and Luna hadn’t offered up any explanations. She would scoff or act cute or otherwise change the subject anytime he’d brought it up.

It wasn’t the first time he’d seen something like that.

_I’m making a mistake._

“It’s none of your business, child. You’re not part of Aether Foundation anymore.” Faba growled in his face.

“Do you even know what Lusamine wants with her?” Gladion sneered, the reflection of his own face in Faba’s glasses a twisted visage of disgust and anger. “Does she tell you anything anymore, lackey? Do you even know why you’re here, what she’s for?”

“As if I’d tell you,” Faba growled.

_This is a bad idea._

“Well,” Gladion pushed Faba back, “you’re not going to get her.”

_I’m an idiot._

“You think you have any right to say that?” Faba screeched, his voice gratingly high pitched. “A little boy playing at being a gangster? What have you ever done that gives you the right to defy me? It’s not even your decision to make! The deal has already been made!”

Gladion started to respond.

“I’m really tired of this bickering,” Guzma said from the side.

Gladion cried out in surprise as a massive force grabbed him, forcing him up and away from Faba. He turned towards the giant arm holding him. Guzma’s golisopod’s black eyes looked back impassively, the pokemon’s arthropodal face incapable of forming any form of expression.

A light toss and Gladion went flying, slamming into the wall a few feet away, the impact knocking the wind out of him. He slid down, clutching his chest and struggling to breathe. Luna shouted and ran towards him, but Kaipo grabbed her arm, holding her back. She fought against his grip, but the girl could do nothing but cry out.

“Maybe it was a mistake having you watch her.” Guzma sauntered over, his eyes cold. Bored. “Didn’t think you’d get attached.”

Gladion tried to respond, but found he couldn’t get the air to do so. Guzma grabbed him by the cuff, the big man lifting him bodily into the air and holding him against the wall. Gladion fought against the grip but could do nothing. Standing straight at his full height, Guzma easily towered head and shoulders above Gladion, and held him in place effortlessly.

“So you’ve made up your mind?” Guzma asked, his voice extremely level. “You’ve decided that you’re not gonna let Luna go to the Aether Foundation? I want to make this very clear.”

Gladion struggled uselessly against the grip.

“ _Fuck_ you,” Gladion gasped out, rage pumping through his body, “and _fuck_ Lusamine.”

Guzma went quiet. His eyes softened, just for a moment.

“What did you think you’d be able to do?” Guzma asked, his voice almost a whisper.

The leader of Team Skull sighed, letting Gladion slide back down the wall. His feet touched the ground and Guzma’s grip lessened. Gladion coughed as he tried to breathe.

The first fist slammed into his stomach hard, forcing what little air he had managed to regain out of his lungs. The second fist hit his jaw and lights flashed in his eyes. Somehow he was on the ground now.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve to try and mess with my deals,” Guzma said. There wasn’t even any anger in his voice. It was empty. Gladion gasped for air. “This was your big break, kiddo. You did this job without any problems and I’d have let you join Team Skull for real. Might have even trusted you.”

Luna was screaming. He saw tears in her eyes. The windows rattled behind her, the lights flickering.

_I’m sorry._

“Don’t hurt him too much, Guzma,” Faba warned. Guzma turned to the man briefly. “Lusamine will want him back eventually. And she doesn’t like it when people break her things.”

Black at the edges of his vision. Sharp pains in his side. Gladion struggled to his hands and knees, his head spinning, his jaw limp. One hand flapping blindly about at his belt, struggling for Null’s pokeball. It wasn’t there.

“Looking for this?” Guzma stared down at him, tossing the pokeball up and down casually. “That’s too bad.”

“Leave him alone!” Luna shouted. The air trembled with his words, but if Guzma or Faba noticed, they weren’t reacting.

“What...” Gladion coughed, a heavy, dry heave that forced air into his lungs and left him sputtering, tears in his eyes. “What…?”

Guzma’s foot connected with his rib-cage again, sending him sprawling. Gladion saw the ceiling for just a moment before he spun over again. But all he needed was a moment, and the cold fear began to grip him.

Dark shapes in the shadows. A hand, shining and shimmering.

Guzma stalked over and Gladion struggled to his hands and knees, barely able to move. Every breath was short, pain shooting through his chest with every inhalation. The taste of blood on his lips, the weakness in his arms. His boss looked over him, his expression blank.

“You’re lucky you’re Lusamine’s brat,” Guzma said, his voice empty. “I wouldn’t be this easy on you otherwise.”

Guzma lashed out with one foot. Gladion cruled himself instinctively to protect himself, but the kick never came. Guzma gazed down, his calm indifference quickly becoming confusion. His leg was stopped a foot from Gladion’s face.

“What the fuck?” Guzma shuddered.

“Gladion!” Luna ran over to him. Gladion coughed heavily as she helped him to his feet, his face and stomach aching dully with every motion. She brushed blood away from his mouth, her cool hands gingerly touching the bruise on his jaw, her expression changing quickly from worry to anger.

“Hold on,” Luna growled, turning back to the room.

They were all frozen in place. Faba’s neck strained, the muscles pulsing as the man tried to move but couldn’t. Kaipo, Yuri and the two Aether Foundation guards were the same, their eyes wide in confusion.

“What’s–” Gladion coughed as he walked forward. Luna leaned into him, letting him use her as support. “What’s going on?”

“I stopped them,” Luna said, pointing.

It was then that he saw it again.

A shadow hung over the entire room. A presence, one that Gladion found shifted even as he gazed at it. Or through it, whatever ‘it’ was. Shimmering in the dark, the thing hovered through the room. It was both corporeal and yet not, appearing and reappearing through the room instead of moving. Dark, heavy arms grabbed the Team Skull and Aether Foundation members, but even as Gladion tried to examine them the arms would dissipate into nothing. Even Guzma’s golisopod couldn’t even budge, the pokemon emitting a long, low-pitched gurgling, a sound that clawed at Gladion’s ears.

“What the hell?” Gladion stepped towards the shapes in the air.

None of the prisoners could speak anymore, not even Guzma. Faba’s face began to turn blue.

“They aren’t breathing!" Gladion realized, his voice panicked. Luna looked back at him, confused. She stared at Guzma, then rushed to Faba. “Luna, whatever you did to them, you have to stop it!”

“I… I…” Luna’s eyes went wide. “I don’t know how to.”

Gladion grit his teeth, rushing to Guzma. The man’s face was turning dark and twitching. Gladion grabbed the shape that held him and a flash of rainbow coloring arced across the thing’s entire body. It filled the room, its body a mess of tendrils and fleshy masses. It followed no shape, no coherency. Gladion found himself looking away, unable to stand the sight of the creature.

He struggled against the thing’s arm, trying to pry it off of Guzma. The rainbow scattering grew harsher, and he felt the creature’s claws release Guzma. The man fell to his knees, gasping for air.

“The fuck?” Guzma struggled for air, one arm clawing at the wall for support. He stood, examining the room as he backed away. “What the fuck?”

Gladion ran to Faba, helping Luna as she worked against the grip of the shadow creature. Faba’s head bobbed listlessly, saliva drooling from the half-conscious man’s lips. Gladion couldn’t as much as budge the massive creature’s grip.

And then suddenly he could. The creature released Faba, the thin man dropping to the floor in a slump. Gladion tried to back away, but the invisible claw was faster, gripping him almost instantly. He shouted as he was raised, a paralysis stalling his kicking legs. The creature’s massive body shone yet he still couldn’t see it clearly. It phased and pulsed, never settling on any particular form. Dread filled him and he couldn’t even begin to fight the fear. It was constant, a thick wall barreling into his consciousness. He blubbered as he struggled to speak. Luna stared up at him, her expression a mess of helpless panic. There was nothing she could do, but after a moment she grabbed at the shape, struggling against its grip as she did for Faba. The creature shimmered, a face forming out of the incoherent mess that was the rest of its body.

Dead eyes stared into him.

Familiar but not.

Air running out now. Guzma was running to him. Luna was shouting.

Gladion’s eyes rolled back and he fell.


	16. Part I: Gladion VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're a reader from prior to the rewrite, check the note at the end of this chapter.

Gladion stared through the polished glass, down into the cavernously wide room as scientists rushed about in preparation. Lillie was down there with Mother, her short legs working hard to keep up with the longer strides of the tall woman, while Gladion was stuck in the Command Bay with most of the observers.

 _She’s so small,_ he thought. His little sister barely came up to the waistlines of so many of the masked, white-robed men. Gladion found himself wishing he could be down there too, to hold her hand and explain all the machines they were using. Lillie loved when he did that. Her bright green eyes would go wide and she’d smile at him in that toothless way she did. The seven-year-old would run about and demand for him to explain this, to demonstrate that, even if she didn’t understand any of it.

Her wide-brimmed white hat bounced as the girl ran about, her snowy dress kicking up behind her legs. She bumped into one of the scientists, who turned around to lecture her – presumably about being careful in a lab – while Mother looked on, her face stern.

“Gladion, move away from the glass, please,” Faba called to him, gesturing to his side. Gladion grumbled incoherently, trudging over to the scientist. “Lusamine insisted that you attend this experiment, though I’m honestly not sure why.”

“So I can better learn and understand the importance of our research,” Gladion repeated like he’d done so often before, “so that we can build a better world for people and pokemon everywhere.”

Faba sighed. “Yes, yes, very well-rehearsed.”

Gladion looked up at the tall man as he fiddled with his computer tablet, the screen showing a strange black mass with diagrams overlaid onto it.

“You don’t want me in here?” Gladion kept staring at the thing as it appeared to change shape and morph on Faba’s screen. Faba shook his head.

“No, that’s not what I mean,” Faba smiled at him, setting his tablet down for a moment. “I’m just worried about having both of you so close to the experimental samples. Lillie or you alone should have been sufficient for replicating Professor Mohn’s genetics. Having you here as well could introduce variables we haven’t accounted for.”

“Like if UB-01 was drawn to me instead of Lillie?” Gladion asked. Faba looked surprised for just a moment before he nodded.

“Precisely. Professor Mohn’s DNA is our only known lure so far.”

“Maybe Mother thinks having both of us here will draw out UB-01 better,” Gladion suggested.

“Maybe.” Faba considered that. “We have very few pokemon left capable of actually opening these gates. She might be trying to maximize exposure time. Or perhaps…”

“Initial preparations complete.” A flash of lights and Mother’s voice boomed over the speakers. She’d been sounding different lately, her voice harsh and demanding. Gladion wondered if it was because of what they found out about Father.

Father had been gone for so long, so why were they still looking for him?

Gladion inched his way back to the glass. The large cuboid room was empty now except for Lillie. She stood in the center of the floor, fidgeting and wringing her hands. She opened her mouth, calling out, but Gladion couldn’t hear her. Her eyebrows wrinkled in obvious uncertainty.

“Powering up fusion reactor,” Mother’s clinical voice sounded over the comm system.

Gladion rushed back to Faba’s desk, grabbing at his microphone.

“Hey!” Faba called after him as Gladion turned on the microphone, rushing back to the glass.

“Lillie!” His voice was loud over the speakers. His little sister jumped, looking around the massive room hesitantly. “Lillie, don’t be afraid!”

“Get him off of that thing somebody, please!” Faba said somewhere behind him. A few of the other scientists rushed to him.

“Everything is going to be okay, Lillie!” Gladion called out as the scientists grabbed him. “Just close your eyes! I’m right there next to you!”

Lillie stared up at the glass – he knew she couldn’t see him – tears streaming down her face. She was yelling now as the room began to shake.

“Powering on dimensional lure,” Lusamine’s voice called, and the hole began to open.

* * *

Gladion opened his eyes. Luna looked down at him. Her white shorts and tank top shone in the flickering fluorescent light. Pale gray eyes reflected a shadow moving in the dark, the slithering mass of its form fading into the walls, leaving long trails of invisible rainbows.

He coughed, sputtering, and the girl pressed her forehead against his. She whispered words he couldn’t make out.

His vision faded again as Luna stood, turning to the door. He tried to reach a hand out to her, but his body just wouldn’t move. He closed his eyes, a breath escaping his lips.

* * *

Everyone was silent.

The luminescent hand reached down from the ceiling of the containment chamber, where the massive hole had appeared out of thin air. The scientists backed away from Gladion in shock, leaving the microphone in his hands. Lillie stared up, her eyes wide with confusion.

It shimmered in the white fluorescent lighting, its appearance seeming to change the longer Gladion looked at it. Skinny and angular, he thought he saw the hints of bone structure in the long, long arm. It stretched an easy twenty feet from the gate on down, easily crossing half of the containment chamber’s depth.

In the reflection on the glass he could see Faba as the older man stood bewildered as the creature slowly slipped through the dimensional gate, shadows dripping off its skin.

“It… it worked,” the man exhaled, “I can’t believe it worked.”

An explosion of noise as the hand slammed into the side of the containment chamber. The entire control booth rocked with the weight of the blow, throwing several people off their feet. Gladion fell against the thick glass.

The lone, long arm buried its claws deep into the walls, pulling more of itself out of the gate. He could see the edges of its body, a roughly spherical mass that seemed to change more the longer he stared. Lillie was motionless, her arms out to her side as she gazed up at the thing. The hand slammed into the wall again, dragging itself down even further. Lillie screamed, running to the opposite end of the containment chamber, her white hat flying from her head.

“Lillie!” Gladion shouted, but there was nothing he could do. The room was completely sealed off. He turned to Faba. “Faba, you need to stop this before it hurts her!”

The man didn’t respond. He jotted a quick note into his journal.

“Faba!” Gladion shouted at him.

“Quiet, boy!” Faba snapped. “This is important.” A brief pause as he wrote a couple of lines. “Our safety measures are in place. Once UB-01 gets too close, it’ll trip the motion sensors and we’ll cut power to the gate. Your sister will be fine.”

Another slam. The arm had changed its form, devolving into a shapeless mass as a mound of flesh poured out of the gate, bloodied, skin-like fragments meshed together. A face emerged from the mess, its shallow mouth opening in a silent scream. The arm – if it could even still be called that – was mere feet from Lillie now.

“How close is it supposed to get before that happens?” Gladion shouted, his voice high and panicked. Lillie was screaming and the thing’s indistinct face opened its mouth further. One offshoot from the elongated arm reached for Lillie’s lost hat, and the creature’s entire body shifted colors, running through the spectrum until it settled on a snowy white just like Lillie’s clothes.

“Within ten feet of the girl...” Faba’s expression suddenly changed, as if realizing what was happening in front of him for the first time. “It’s much closer than that.” Faba stared at the scene in front of him for a long time, as if he had only just now begun to comprehend it. He turned to the man next to him, slamming his hand down on his keyboard, shouting into the computer. “Emergency procedure six! UB-01 is not registering on motion sensors! I repeat, UB-01 is not registering on motion sensors!”

The entire room seemed to explode into action. Men rushed out of the room, other men rushed in. Masks were put on or taken off. People shouted into comms. Gladion stood there, barely even understanding the chaos unfolding around him.

“Cut off fusion reactor power now. Lusamine, please respond,” Faba’s voice was high pitched and rushed. “Lower control, please respond. We need to cut reactor power now.”

A tiny hand appeared out of the end of its long tentacle, nearly unnoticeable against the massive scale of the rest of the creature. One finger brushed Lillie’s face, wiping away a single terrified tear. The girl fainted, her tiny body slumping against the containment cell wall.

“Lillie!” Gladion shouted into the microphone, his voice amplified through the entire compound. The arm jerked suddenly, slamming into another corner of the containment cell. The creature rotated its entire dangling body towards Gladion, its face sliding up the length of the exposed sphere of its central body to look directly at him.

“Lower control, please respond!” Faba’s voice growing more frantic by the minute. “Lower control!”

The tiny hand pressed against the glass gently, and the glass cracked.

Dead eyes stared into him.

“Lower control!” Faba practically screamed. A flurry of movement behind him, but Gladion couldn’t turn to look now. “Out of the way, I’m overriding her!”

The hand closed against the glass. Gladion couldn’t look away.

The face mouthed words he couldn’t understand.

“There!” Faba’s voice from behind. The containment chamber went dark.

The portal vanished, and with it the creature. Gladion sank to his knees, the image of the empty face burning in his mind. He closed his eyes, his hands shaking, rattling the microphone still clutched in one fist. Even with all the movement of the scientists behind him, all he could hear was a faint wailing far off in the distance.

The sound of a little girl crying.

* * *

“Open the stasis cell.” Gladion gestured with the gun. The masked scientist scrambled against the wall, the steel tips of his white gloves clacking against the bare tile walls. “Now!” Gladion shouted, and the man shrieked, rushing for the computer.

“L-L-Look, Gladion,” the man struggling to speak, his voice stuttering from fear. “These things were put into stasis for a reason. N-Nobody c-can control them!” Gladion glanced over at the other scientist in the corner, who sat nursing his bleeding leg. Red sprayed along the floor, a pool beginning to form under the injured scientist.

 _Mother will have a fit when she sees the stains_.

“Hurry up.” Gladion pointed the pistol upwards, firing another warning shot. Dust and debris rained down as a fluorescent bulb shattered, showering glass on the floor between him and the scientist. Gladion ignored it. _There’s mercury in those,_ Gladion considered, looking up at the many other fluorescent lights in the ceiling. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of them in the entire facility. The scientist shrieked and twitched as he huddled over his console.

“T-There.” The man pressed a button and one wall began to retract back and away, revealing a long, glowing blue tube. A massive dark shape curled up within, its head obscured by a large metal helmet. “But this is a really, really bad idea.”

Gladion shrugged, lowering the gun.

* * *

_I left her behind._

He opened his eyes to the night sky, blinking away tears.

A gentle wind blew and Gladion shivered as he struggled to sit up. The wall behind him was blackened and dark, and as he gently slid himself against it he could smell strong hints of ash and charcoal. He sighed as he settled into position, his entire body aching with the effort.

Po Town opened up in front of him, the low roofs of the many rundown buildings gray in the night. A crowd had gathered in the street, the multi-colored dyed hair of the many Team Skull underlings all muted by the dark. Kaipo and Yuri were struggling to disperse them all, their automatic rifles slung over their shoulders as Kaipo shouted and pushed against them.

Gladion looked up and to the right, towards the south-western wing of the mansion. The entire front of the building had been stripped away, exposing wiring, floors, and furniture to the open air. Several rooms had been laid bare to the outside world, and he saw more than a couple Team Skull members hesitantly peering out from the upper floors of the mansion.

Luna was gone, as was the creature. Gladion shivered at the memory of the amorphous thing, of its bulbous and fleshy body. He tried to push the thought from his mind, but it gnawed its way back. The black mask over its face, the empty eyes that stared back at him, dead and unthinking.

He struggled to his feet, each push against the wall making his legs shake, protesting against the effort of standing. Gladion looked around, trying to comprehend what happened. Luna was gone. Half the mansion was gone. Somehow he knew she wouldn’t be staggering around a corner anywhere nearby. Confused mumbling in the crowd began to filter away as Kaipo was starting to succeed in dispersing the numerous Team Skull members. His big hands waved in the dark as he worked to diffuse them all.

“Fascinating,” Faba seemed to appear from nowhere, his blue eyes wide behind his now-cracked green glasses. “The power of the Ultra Beasts.”

 _Ultra Beasts?_ It was a name he’d heard many times before. Was that what that thing was? That… monster? He had no better name for it. The creature with a face like the void, a body that defied understanding, abilities that were more than just psychic moves from a pokemon.

It was certainly not terrestrial in origin; no, that was ridiculous. No creature on this Earth could phase through matter like that, could change its shape like that, and could generate that level of otherworldly dread within him.

No, it couldn’t be natural, right?

_Right?_

And it was disturbingly familiar.

Guzma was already up and moving about, his big hands picking through the rubble of his destroyed home. Gladion didn’t know much about architecture, but he was certain that the building was doomed with this level of damage. The entire front face of the mansion had been eaten away, leaving so much exposed to the open air that it was a wonder nothing had yet further collapsed.

There was no sign of Luna.

He staggered forward, finally getting his legs working again. Guzma stared at him and Gladion stared back.

“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, kid,” his boss said.

* * *

Kaipo shoved Gladion down onto the chair, his arms tied behind his back. Guzma sat across the table, most of his face in shadows. With the power out in the building, the room was illuminated by candles – where Guzma had found them was anyone’s guess.

Faba was unceremoniously dumped into the chair next to Gladion, the prissy man swearing and struggling against Yuri’s grip. His green shades were gone, his normally sculpted hair now mussed and frayed. A thin trail of blood ran down the side of his sharp jawline. Yuri wordlessly twisted Faba’s arm, who protested vocally, his voice pained. Gladion stared at Guzma, who spun Null’s pokeball on the table in between them.

“Looks like the Aether Foundation will need to fill me in on a few things,” Guzma started, his voice calm and low.

“I don’t have to explain anything to you!” Faba leaned forward in his chair. “You failures let the girl get away! Who knows where she could have gone? Why wasn’t she under restraints? How did she–”

_Not the right response, Faba._

Yuri drew a long combat knife, pressing it against Faba’s throat. Faba instantly went quiet. Guzma stood, walking around the table very, very slowly. Every step jingled his many gold chains and the rings on his fingers seemed to burn in the candlelight. When he stopped in front of the Aether Executive, his expression was finally in the light, the crevasses of his cheeks drawing long shadows across his face.

“See, none of what happened was in my contract with Lusamine.” Guzma leaned in close, his nose almost touching Faba’s. “I was only told that the girl was a Faller, Faba, so you need to tell me real quick how the fuck she took out four people _and_ my Golisopod.”

Gladion felt the dead eyes staring at him in his mind, the image of its ever-changing faces, its nearly invisible body that seemed to vanish and reappear at whim. He shivered. Guzma considered him for a half-moment before turning back to Faba.

“Do you know why Lusamine doesn’t tell you anything important, Guzma?” Faba scowled, leaning his head away from the combat knife at his throat, the tone of his voice low.

“Hmm?” Guzma cracked a smile. “Tell me.”

“Because she doesn’t take you seriously,” Faba sneered. Guzma’s smile vanished. “Why would she tell the full story to a man she can’t even trust in the first place? Especially when you can’t even deliver a little girl–”

Guzma lashed out, his fist striking Faba heavily in the jaw. The man toppled over backwards in his chair and Guzma was already over him. The boss of Team Skull shouted, grabbing the Aether Executive by the jacket and slamming him into the ground again. Gladion winced at the raw crunching impact.

“Yeah!?” Guzma shouted down at the fallen man, “Why don’t you say that again to me, you fuck?” Faba didn’t respond, his eyes listlessly swirling around the room. “I’ll fucking show Lusamine then! I’ll fucking _make_ her trust me!”

Guzma stood straight and stared back at Gladion. He felt his heart jump in his chest as his boss skulked over to him.

“You,” Guzma grabbed Gladion’s jaw, forcing the boy to look at him. “You’re gonna prove your worth to me.”

“H-How?” Gladion struggled to say.

“That Luna bitch, the one that destroyed my _fucking house_!” Guzma gesticulated wildly with one arm, as if to accentuate his point. “You’re the closest one to her,” Guzma let out a long, low breath, releasing Gladion, “which means you’re gonna help us get her back.”

“I’m not letting her go back to Lusamine,” Gladion protested.

“I don’t think you understand,” Guzma growled. “You either help me bring the girl to Lusamine alive,” he paused, “or we bring her to Lusamine dead.”

Gladion recalled the creature phasing through the room, the rainbow trails that it left.

“If you even can,” Gladion shot back. Guzma chuckled.

“I don’t give a fuck what kind of monster she is. This shitbag,” Guzma gestured to Yuri, the pale man sitting near Faba’s motionless body, “he was a military sniper. No weird freaky powers are gonna save Luna from a sniper round shot from over a kilometer away.”

Gladion swallowed, suddenly uncertain.

“So you either help us track her down,” Guzma’s eyes shone in the low light, an intensity in them that Gladion hadn’t seen for a long, long time, “or your girlfriend is dead."

* * *

Gladion lifted his Zubat’s pokeball. He hadn’t used it since he caught it months ago, the pokeball just sitting on his desk collecting dust. He attached it to his belt next to Null’s ball. Kaipo and Yuri would be waiting downstairs, probably strapped to their teeth with guns and other weaponry. Gladion gingerly stepped through his room, flinching every time the floor creaked heavily or groaned.

Luna took out most of the front portion of the mansion, but left Gladion’s room mostly unscathed. However, with only a lone cement pillar supporting this portion of the mansion’s south-western wing, there was no telling when it would all come crashing down.

He grabbed what little belongings he had that mattered – his pokeballs, a book or two, and an old locket – and shoved them into his backpack. He put his only couple change of clothes in there as well. There was no telling how long they’d be out.

How long they’d be hunting, as Kaipo had put it.

Gladion left his room behind, wondering if it would even still be there when he returned.

_If I return._

Lei was waiting downstairs when he arrived. Kaipo and Yuri were there as well, joined by Guzma and a somewhat less ruffled Faba. Lei threw her arms around him when she saw him, giving him a huge hug.

“Be careful, okay?” Lei sniffed. Gladion patted her back awkwardly, unsure what to say as he gazed over her shoulder. Faba glared at him. Kaipo joked about something to Yuri, who nodded solemnly but gave no other response.

“It’ll be fine,” Gladion reassured Lei. He didn’t believe it, and most likely neither did she.

She detached herself from Gladion and walked to the side, her head down. Gladion joined the rest of the men. Faba was staring hard at him. Gladion tried his best to avoid meeting his eyes. The two Aether Foundation enforcers sat near the far wall, their hands tied behind their backs.

“Gladion,” Guzma looked down at him, his face stern.

“Yes, boss?”

“I don’t want you to give these guys any shit while you’re hunting the girl down, okay?” Guzma’s voice had an odd inflection to it. “She’s dangerous, so you need to be careful. Without you there, all we’ve got is a scared little girl being chased by evil men.”

“You forced this on her,” Gladion growled at him. Guzma sighed.

“Just don’t get hurt, kid.”

Gladion turned, brushing past Kaipo and Yuri as he walked out into the street.

Around him the air began to grow lighter with the beginning hints of dawn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important Notice Regarding the Rewrite:
> 
> This story has been completely rewritten! The process is now complete. If you're confused about what's going on, or if you're curious about whether you should start reading again, read this.
> 
> Back in February I became dissatisfied with the way my story had haphazardly come together. I didn't like its presentation and several elements felt problematic and poorly planned. I went through and rewrote the whole damn thing. Much of the story is completely the same, but there are a lot of changes. For example, each chapter is now told from the perspective of a single character now. No jumping back and forth in POV within the same chapter. This change alone required the most editing to make work and required a lot of writing to "fill in the gaps", so to speak. Lots of new scenes have been added.
> 
> As a consequence: [Potential spoilers for those who did not read prior to the story's rewrite.]
> 
> \- Gladion's story has been pushed back. Luna lashing out and running away from Po Town now occurs in chapter 15 (it was previously in chapter 9). This pushback allows me to develop Gladion and Luna more before she runs off.
> 
> \- Some characters have been removed entirely, like Lono.
> 
> \- Professor Kukui does not show up at Ilima's house.
> 
> \- The weird Ultra Space events have not occurred yet at all.
> 
> \- Acerola and Lillie don't have certain important scenes. I have decided to go in a different direction for them.
> 
> \- Chapter 17 is the first entirely new chapter, as Lillie's story has passed where it was previously at by this time.
> 
> \- Character progression and personality tweaks abound. Ilima is less of an asshole early on. Lillie is much more uncertain for longer. Hau gets more screentime. Acerola is less confident and a bit more awkward, especially with Lillie and Ilima.
> 
> \- Nearly every chapter has been added to extensively, unless I previously felt that they were good enough where they stood. This allows more development for all characters involved, as well as cutting out unnecessary elements and tightening up the plot a bit.
> 
> What this boils down to: Kukui has NOT been reintroduced into the story (yet), Lillie has NOT kissed Acerola, Gladion setting out from Po Town with Kaipo and Yuri to bring back Luna happens later in the plot. All previous Ultra Space material has been removed and will be reintroduced in a different way later on.
> 
> [End potential spoilers.]
> 
> What this means for you as a reader:
> 
> At the absolute minimum, you only need to read chapter 17 and on. The story is pretty much going the same direction as it was before. Many details have changed that you might not be aware of, but if you're going to follow the story without rereading, then start at 17. Some content after this point is old, but you'll survive. Enough things change that you'll need to reread that stuff anyway.
> 
> Also keep in mind I haven't used all my material that I've published. Some of it may pop up again.
> 
> Additionally, if you originally read chapters 17-19 before 7/24/17, note that I swapped an event around because I felt the story flowed better with the change. I removed the battle previously in Chapter 18 and modified the ending of chapter 17 to fit. 18 has been replaced by a different chapter, one that's mostly old content from pre-rewrite. Chapters 18 and 19 are mostly from pre-rewrite. Both have been updated to fit within the logical sequence of the story as I've laid it out in the rewrite. The battle scene will be added back in as chapter 21.


	17. Part I: Lillie IX

****It was another hour or so before Acerola had straightened out, readying herself to walk back out into the living room. Lillie wasn’t sure what the girl would do – would she snap at Ilima? Argue with him? Would she act like nothing had happened? Acerola hesitated, just for a moment, before opening the door. It was brief, but not so brief that Lillie didn’t notice.

Ilima stood in the living room, talking to Hau. He fell silent when Acerola walked towards him.

“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Acerola asked. Lillie watched Acerola carefully as the girl impassively looked to the trial captain for guidance, her question hanging in the air. Hau was quiet, observing the exchange, the ocean at his back. Lillie fiddled with her hands.

Even the pokemon had noticed something was wrong. Poppy retreated between Hau’s legs, looking uncertainly up at them all. Even Koa stood unusually close to Lillie, his gaze fixed firmly on the ground. Ilima’s yungoos was nowhere to be seen.

“The will be no change. Tomorrow is the fourth day. Since Lillie has caught a pokemon, I will have to focus on teaching Lillie to control it. She also needs battle experience.” If Lillie hadn’t known otherwise, Ilima’s tone wouldn’t have betrayed that there was anything wrong at all. “I’ll decide in the morning which task we’ll work on.

“Two days from tomorrow, both Lillie and Hau will battle me. Should they win, then the following day they will undergo the trial.” Ilima’s response grew terse. Lillie saw some sort of great struggle in Acerola as the girl tried to respond.

“I think she should probably work on training her pichu first,” Acerola was wringing her hands, her entire demeanor apprehensive, despite her obvious attempt to hide it. “Her bagon is–”

“Ace,” Ilima looked down at her, “I’ll decide what we’re going to do tomorrow.”

Acerola bit her lip and looked away.

_She just gave up?_

Lillie watched as Acerola’s lip quivered, the girl looking away from Ilima in a concession to his argument. Acerola had barely given any sort of fight, nor mounted any sort of resistance. Lillie shook the thought away as best she could, but the distaste lingered.

Ilima stood before them, his expression fixed with a thought he kept close guard of. For a long while Lillie examined him, but when the trial captain turned his gaze to her, Lillie quickly found herself looking anywhere but at him. She absently wandered over to the kitchen, Koa following behind her slowly, quietly.

 _He never makes much sound,_ Lillie thought to herself, trying to distract herself from the troublesome exchange between her two mentors. _I wonder if that’s normal for bagons._

“Lillie,” Ilima called to her, “I will be working with you alone either tomorrow or the day after. On that day, Acerola will be taking Hau out for training. The other day will be focusing on training as a group.”

_For Ace’s sake I hope you give her space tomorrow._

Lillie looked at the trial captain and swallowed her growing unease. The man was impassive and reserved, but she could feel the steel in him. Lillie nodded – she could do nothing else.

The rest of the evening was spent in an awkward quiet as a storm began to brew outside. Rain fell in sheets, coating the sand in a thick wet coat. Hau played with Poppy by himself. Ilima locked himself in his room. Lillie found herself wanting to reach out to Acerola, who paced around the kitchen, occasionally sniffing or brushing down her clothes or looking out the window, but she was never able to work up the courage to approach the older girl.

Eventually Hau turned in for the night, closing the door to their room gently behind himself. Lillie sat on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. Koa was tucked away in his ball for the night, though the pokemon had protested with growling and stamping his feet when he realized what Lillie was trying to do. Maybe he’d grown a bit accustomed to being out of his ball. Acerola walked over to her, the black-haired ghost trainer’s hands clasped firm and tight in front of her.

“Lillie…” she started, the trepidation in her voice somehow immediately perking up Lillie’s attention.

“Sorry!” Lillie stood, gesturing at where she’d been planted. “Sorry, I know you’ve been sleeping on the coach. I didn’t mean to take your spot.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Acerola waved her arms, “I was gonna go to bed soon but I had a favor to ask you.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s gonna be cold in here with the storm, since the living room is so airy.” Acerola was shifting on her feet, looking to Lillie then outside and then back to Lillie, “and I was wondering if I could sleep in your bed.”

“In my bed?” Lillie nodded. “Of course. I don’t mind sleeping out here. I might even get extra warning for when Ilima starts banging that stupid pan of his–”

“No!” Acerola stopped her, reaching for her hand. Suddenly the girl stepped back, looking down. “I mean, I don’t want to kick you out to the living room. I wanted to sleep in your bed with you. I guess… I guess I just don’t want to be alone out here all night, is all.”

Lillie opened her mouth with the realization of what Acerola was asking. The girl was looking down at the floor, blushing slightly. It should have been a playful request, the kind that Acerola would throw out flippantly and casually. The somberness of her tone made the shorter, older girl suddenly appear altogether different.

“Of course.” Lillie smiled, intentionally keeping her reaction soft and welcoming. “It might be a bit tight since the bed isn’t too big, but I’m sure I can fit you on there too.”

“Thank you,” Acerola smiled back. “This room gets really large at night, and none of my pokemon are really the cuddling type, you know? If only I befriended a Pichu like you did so I could have something cute to cuddle up with at night.”

“I’m hardly friends with my Pichu,” Lillie joked. “And I’m plenty cute enough to cuddle up with.”

 _I know what it’s like to not want to be alone._ Lillie smiled at Acerola.

* * *

It was still dark when Lillie’s eyes opened.

Unlike every previous morning at Ilima’s house, she was actually awake _before_ Ilima startled her with his ridiculous racket. Lillie sat up, listening to the mix of sounds flowing in from the cool morning outside. Froakie calls, their distinct two-note chimes, fading in favor of pikipek and trumbeak’s more constant fluttering buzz.

Lillie shivered, pulling her white hoodie closer around herself. The wind blowing through the screen windows was made colder by the warmth of Lillie’s bed. A quiet rustling behind her, and Lillie turned about.

Acerola slept softly next to her, facing the wall, both hands in front of her body. Her black hair messily pressed against one of the two pillows. She was totally relaxed, and Lillie smiled at that.

_She deserves a rest._

Lillie extended one hand, gently running her fingers through the edges of Acerola’s hair. Soft, with the barest hint of fragrance from her shower the night before. Acerola slept in a ragged t-shirt and a pair of loose cloth shorts, both the color of the night. A comically drawn ghastly adorned the shoulder of her t-shirt, a branding logo that Lillie wasn’t familiar with.

_Hard to believe it’s only been four days since I ran away from Professor Kukui. So much has happened._

Months since she’d run away from her mother.

_Living with Kukui was so much slower of a pace than this._

She stood slowly, careful not to agitate the wound on her inner thigh. It hurt less and less now. The bandage was probably unnecessary now that the wound was very much closed, but the doctor had told her it would hurt for a long time, and even if the skin was sealed, there was the risk of it reopening internally. After three weeks, that risk was low.

Gently Lillie pried off the bandage, running a finger over the jagged scar. Several distinct teeth marks were visible, with additional scarring where Koa had attempted to rip and tear. Lillie recalled the memory and shuddered. Her leg had been the first spot Koa had attacked, as if he was trying directly for the artery. As if he was going for the kill.

_And he almost got it._

Her foot had healed nearly entirely by now, the bite there not been nearly as deep. It had been an injury sustained just from trying to kick the pokemon away from her. She remembered the scent of the blood, the thick, iron black pool of liquid she had crawled through in the dark. If the professor had arrived just a minute later…

“Then Professor Kukui would have a new bagon!” Lillie chuckled to herself, her voice quiet.

_They found me in the nick of time. They never found Luna._

The froakie calls were nearly silent now, subsumed by the confident cries of early morning birds. From high up in the mountain, the occasional booming call of a toucannon could be heard. According to Ilima, there was likely only a small handful of them on this entire side of the mountain.

The mountains of Alola were gently sloped, though many of the ones on Melemele Island had grown ridged and irregular from erosion over millions of years. Ula`Ula Island’s volcanoes were much larger and more rounded due to being younger.

_Maybe one day I’ll climb them._

Lillie laughed the thought away.

She brushed down the front of her shorts, straightening them, pulled her hoodie tight around herself, and grabbed Koa’s ball. On a whim she grabbed the pokeball of her unnamed pichu as well and started out of the room. In the doorway she paused, looking back at Acerola as the girl quietly slept.

 _What is it that I want from you?_ Lillie grit her teeth, pushing the thought away.

* * *

For an hour or so Lillie dawdled about in the empty living room. She let Koa out, the pokemon sniffing at the furniture in the dark. The storm had cleared up overnight, the last patters of falling rain exhausting themselves now. Lillie stretched the full length of her body across the couch. It was bigger than she was.

Acerola had startled her awake once in the middle of the night, as lightning had crashed around them. Screaming light pouring through the windows, and the girl had grabbed Lillie in fright. If she was even awake or not, Lillie couldn’t be sure, nor was it evident if Acerola knew she woke Lillie up.

Thunder roared as Acerola’s hand gripped Lillie’s hoodie tight.

It had only been just a moment.

Lillie shook herself from the memory as the door to the bedroom opened. Acerola stepped out into the living room, yawning heavily. The girl’s clothes were ruffled just as much as her hair. With a small grunt to affirm that Acerola had noticed Lillie sitting there, the girl retreated to the bathroom.

Ilima stepped out of his own room not long after and Lillie looked up at him. Red eyes stared back at her, a hint of anger and annoyance tinging the edge of the tired man’s vision.

 _Man?_ Lillie wondered for a moment. _He’s 19, so it’s not like he’s_ that _much older than me. So is he a boy?_

Now _that_ didn’t quite sit well with her.

“Hau is still asleep if you need to wake somebody up with your pots,” Lillie gestured back at her room. Ilima nodded and walked – shuffled, really – to the kitchen. Lillie watched his back, a smirk spreading across her face.

The smirk only grew wider when she heard Hau’s screeching protests mere moments later.

* * *

“Man, you all look _horrible_!” Hau chuckled, pointing at Ilima’s face. He stretched heavily, Poppy rubbing against his leg. Hau bent down to scratch one of it’s flopping ears.

“I look fine!” Lillie stamped one foot in protest. She had to admit, though, Acerola and Ilima did not wake up with grace that morning.

Acerola leaned against the far wall, arms crossed in front of herself. She hadn’t bothered changing clothes after her shower, and her eyes still betrayed a heavily sleepy expression. Her hair was brushed at least – Lillie wound up doing that for her when Ace had stepped out of the bathroom looking just as disheveled as when she had walked in.

Ilima wasn’t looking much better. His hands wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee, his eyes alert and at attention, but the rest of him very much unconcerned with appearance. He wore a stained lime-green t-shirt and faded brown cargo shorts. Not exactly clothes he would want to be seen in, Lillie bet.

“Are you sure you don’t want any, Ace?” Ilima asked again. She shook her head, not even looking at him. “Well–” his voice was gravely and rough “–I might as well lay down the law for our work today.”

Hau perked up.

“Today I will be working with Lillie alone. What I focus on I will decide shortly. While I’m doing that, Hau–” Ilima cut the boy off right as he was about to talk “–you will be working with Acerola. She’ll decide your curriculum for today. Tomorrow, we’re going to be working at the house, doing battle training. Ace and I will battle first to show you two how more professional trainers handle themselves in battle. I’m sure you’ve probably seen trainers battle on TV or the internet or during official tournaments. It’s one thing to see two people who have prepared heavily for a particular battle be intensely focused on something. It’s something else entirely to have strategy narrated to you while a battle is raging.

“Which will be the purpose of that exercise. Ace and I will battle, and both of us will attempt to relay the logic behind our actions to you two. As Lillie has worked with Ace more recently, Lillie will be following me, and Hau will follow Ace.”

“And did I have any choice here?” Ace asked, her voice cold and quiet. She finally looked up, staring directly at Ilima. “I don’t remember being asked to battle you or to work with Hau.”

“I didn’t think I would have to,” Ilima responded almost immediately. “There are important exercises.” He waited a long moment to see if she’d protest further, but Ace simply looked away. “After Ace and I battle, Lillie and Hau will have another real battle. It should be more even than the first attempt now that Koa is somewhat under control.”

“Why won’t we battle Ace?” Hau chimed in. “Or you?”

“She uses ghost types,” Ilima shrugged. “Many of the attacks that Poppy and Koa know would be completely ineffective against them. She’s also a stronger trainer than I am, and would likely be an insurmountable challenge at this point in your careers. And there’s no need to battle me since that’s your final test before the trial regardless.”

_A compliment from Ilima?_

“Wouldn’t it be unfair for me to observe you?” Lillie asked. “Hau and I will both be battling you in a few days. If I know your line-up and your strategies now...”

“A reasonable concern.” Ilima nodded approvingly. “During my battle with you and Hau, I will be using my yungoos and my smeargle. I will not be using those pokemon against Acerola.” A long pause, waiting for more questions. When none came… “Alright. We’ll start after breakfast. Acerola will decide when to set off with Hau.”

“Fine.” Acerola growled, brushing past Ilima. She walked towards Lillie’s bedroom and retreated inside, closing the door none too gently behind her. Hau looked after her in surprise, but Ilima simply walked back to the kitchen.

“I’ll, uh, I’ll check on her!” Lillie suggested, gingerly chasing after her.


	18. Part I: Acerola III

****_What an ass._

Acerola was less walking and more charging down the road, Hau struggling to keep up with her. Ilima hadn’t talked to her about any of this! And after kissing her without her permission? Trying to manipulate her into joining his movement again? And now he wanted to battle again? And he was issuing orders about what she was supposed to do?

_It’s no different than how it used to be._

Her annoyance with Ilima turned into irritation with Hau. She found herself rolling her eyes at the boy as he loudly and verbally complained the entirety of their trek down the coastline. They were an hour north up the shore and the houses were far behind them, with nothing but black lava rock coastline that merged into sandy shores further up. Beyond that were forests so dense that Acerola didn’t even want to think about venturing into them.

“I mean, it’s a long walk, you know?” Hau stopped next to her when she finally paused. He bent over, breathing heavily. “Ilima would always just take me a few minutes out to a clearing, you know?” More breathing. “He’d give me battle tips and show me tricks and do stuff like that.” The boy shook his head. “We didn’t go on any hikes.”

“That’s precisely why I’m doing this,” Acerola sighed, “and that’s why you’re out here.”

Hau shook his head, righting himself. The boy was sweating heavily – he had worse stamina than Lillie! At least she could keep up, albeit while miserable the entire time. Sure, the sun beat down hard on them and the ground was broken, wet and uneven, but even so!

“Weren’t you grandson of the Kahuna? And your Dad was–”

“I know!” Hau deflated, exasperated. “I know, I know, I know. Gotta keep up with the family.”

Acerola watched as the boy stretched, his arms poking far into the sky. He held that pose for a few seconds before lowering his arms, jumping up and down a few times for good measure. The boy smiled back at her, all evidence of his previous complaining erased utterly. Pleasing to see, maybe, but Acerola couldn’t help but suspect his sudden enthusiasm was entirely artificial.

“As a trainer, you’ll be doing a lot of traveling,” Acerola explained, “up mountains, through forests, over deserts, into ruins–”

“Ruins?” Hau perked up. “Like the Ruins of Conflict?”

“Indeed,” Acerola nodded, “but not just the four Tapu Ruins. There is an entire village on Ula`Ula Island that’s abandoned, wasting away. It’s where I hold my trial, which you may one day face if you prove yourself worthy.”

_If._

They walked for a ways longer, until the lava rock shoreline faded into black sand beaches. Long after that, they came across a lone tirtouga laying on the beach, its black shell nearly indistinguishable against the beach, its dark blue scaled skin lightly glimmering. Hau opened his mouth in awe at the creature and Acerola could tell he wanted it.

“Alola is one of the only places you can find a tirtouga in the wild, you know,” Acerola gestured to the basking pokemon, “and they’re so rare that many scientists are more willing to revive them from ancient fossils than to hunt them down in the wild. I’ve known for years about this guy – I found him on my own when I took this very trial years ago.”

“Why didn’t you catch him if he’s so rare?” Hau looked at her with a bemused expression. “I mean, he’s just sitting there.”

“Woe be the trainer that tries,” Acerola snickered, “as I found out myself. Even so, I worry every once in a while that somebody has found this spot, this last little refuge of a dying species. If someone does him harm or, hell, if they catch him, I don’t know where I’d ever find another like him.”

“Are…” Hau stopped, staring at the pokemon. “Are there pokemon we shouldn’t catch? I haven’t really caught any pokemon. Poppy was given to me as a gift by my grandpa. Like, if I caught that tirtouga right now, would that be wrong?”

“I’m not sure if I believe in right or wrong.” Acerola shrugged. “The village I hold my trial in is now known as the Tapu Village, the Forbidden Village. It was destroyed by Tapu Bulu when I was just a baby. Rumor has it that the Guardian Deity was disgusted by the shallow, selfish ways of the inhabitants. It is said the plants and trees themselves turned against the people of the village, tearing down walls or dragging people down into the soil. Tapu Bulu, the great spirit of the earth, showed no mercy.”

“Wow…” Hau’s eyes were wide with wonder.

“Do you think the Tapu was wrong in destroying that town? In killing those people?” Acerola posed her questions, gazing at the tirtouga. Its eyes were closed peacefully.

“Of course it was!” Hau stamped one foot. “Killing people is always wrong! Even just destroying someone’s house is bad!”

“So then the Tapu Bulu was wrong?”

“I…”

“A _god_ was wrong?”

“I mean…” Hau shoved his hands into the pockets of his board shorts, unable to answer.

Acerola nodded and was silent for a long while. The ocean washed up further onto the shore, nipping at the resting turtle pokemon. The tirtouga raised its head and inched forward, its flippers digging into the sand as it dragged itself into the water. After a long while the pokemon slipped beneath the waves and was gone.

“I cannot judge the Tapu Bulu for destroying that village,” Acerola said to Hau, “nor could I judge the trainer that may one day capture that Tirtouga. We, trainers, are not judges. We occupy a specific place in this world, a place of control and power, where we can master pokemon whose abilities far exceed our own. Your Poppy may one day grow into a primarina, a pokemon that can demolish buildings with the explosive power of the bubbles it creates. Lillie’s first pokemon, Koa, may one day grow into a salamence, a pokemon known for its brutality and strength.

“Pokemon can be your friends. They can be your most trusted companions. They can be your weapons, your tools, your empowerment. They can be your demise.” Acerola stared at the ocean, shining shades of blue, green and turquoise. “They have been weapons of war and instruments of peace. Beasts of burden and noble pets. And it is because of this that we cannot be a judge. Our strength is too great.

“The Tapu are ancient and powerful. They are capable of raising floods, of calling down thunder, of shaping our world, and yet they are distant and aloof.”

Hau didn’t respond, but Acerola didn’t really expect him to. They looked over the ocean a long while before finally moving on.

* * *

It was solidly the afternoon when Acerola turned them around again, heading back to Ilima’s cottage on the coast. Hau hadn’t been the most talkative, not since they encountered the Tirtouga. Acerola had taken him further north a ways, then up the mountain, showing him different areas she remembered from her own trial days. Here, a colony of meowth had grown overpopulated in a small area under a bridge, tucked away against a river bend where many trainers passed through. There, a growlithe carried a dead rattata in its jaws, pausing to look at the two trainers before continuing along its way back to its pack. Acerola asked if Hau wanted to try and catch the pokemon, but the trainer simply shook his head.

Acerola would occasionally glance back at the young boy. He kept his vision fixed firmly on the ground, his eyebrows furrowed. For over an hour they walked like this, silent except for the occasional comment Acerola made about their surroundings – here was a good spot to fish for river pokemon, there was where Drowzee gathered at night for a reason she had never been able to deduce.

When Ilima’s house came into view again, Hau stopped entirely. Acerola paused, considering the boy.

“My Dad left me with Grandpa when I was very young,” Hau said, the words coming slowly. “He never gave a reason. He was well-liked here, you know? Everyone thought he was a great man. At least that’s what they said. When he ducked out, everyone was shocked. Like, man, why would he leave his own kid, you know?

“Maybe it was the pressure of being the son of a Kahuna? My Dad was scary strong, with pokemon vicious and terrifying, but Hala was always one step ahead. I can feel that pressure too, you know. Sometimes… sometimes I just wanna run outside, play fetch with Poppy and just mess around, you know? But I’m no good in school. I’m no good at sports. Being a trainer… it’s the only I can do. I think it was the only thing Dad knew how to do too.

“And you were right. I can’t be his judge. I can’t hate him. So I smile. If not for him, then despite him.

“Maybe Tapu Bulu had a reason, you know? Maybe it had to be done. Maybe that village had to be destroyed. Maybe it didn’t. For all I know, those people died for no reason at all, or they died for a reason so great that I should never even begin to doubt it.”

Acerola didn’t respond. She let the boy talk. He raised his head, his expression determined, almost grim.

“I’m going to beat Ilima,” Hau stated. “But even if I lose, it’s going to be with a smile on my face. I’mma be cheerful, even if all I want to do is cry. It’s what I gotta do, brah.”

Acerola nodded her assent.

_I hope you stay true to that._

* * *

5:52 PM. Acerola leaned around the doorway, checking the clock on the kitchen stove and smirking with satisfaction. _Right on time. No way Ilima can criticize me for_ that _, right?_

“We’re back!” Hau called out into the house. Acerola glanced about the living room. The screen door across from them was open. Ilima strode across the sand towards something she couldn’t quite see. His expression was dark, and if he noticed Hau’s call he certainly didn’t show it. He crossed out of view and a sharp yelp of distress rang into the air.

_Lillie!_

Acerola ran across the bare hardwood floors, swinging herself around the corner off the doorway. Lillie sat on the sand, a small yellow form grasped in her hands. She curled over the Pichu protectively as sparks occasionally jumped from the wounded pokemon’s cheeks.

_Wounded?_

Blood ran through Lillie’s fingers like morbid little rivers, her pichu shivering in Lillie’s grasp. Acerola jumped down onto the sand, approaching the two trainers with as much authority as she could gather.

“What’s going on?” she demanded. Ilima paused, turning to her. Behind him she could see his yungoos slithering about in the sand, staring at the newcomer. Its fangs were bared, blood dripping from the pokemon’s mouth. Ilima’s expression was blank.

“I was teaching her more advanced techniques for battling,” Ilima said. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, and he glared at Acerola like she had no business even being present. Acerola kneeled down next to Lillie, examining the bleeding pokemon. She felt her heart drop at the sight of the wound – a savage bite along the Pichu’s shoulder. The amount of blood was dangerous for a pokemon that small.

“Lillie, return him to his ball,” Acerola instructed. The girl nodded, fishing along the sand for the pokeball, her hand moving frantically and uncertainly. Lillie’s head would occasionally bob and Acerola realized the younger girl was crying.

Once the pichu was returned to its ball, Acerola led Lillie inside, instructing Hau to watch her for a moment while Acerola went back out. She closed the sliding glass door behind herself as she stared at Ilima. He nonchalantly petted his yungoos.

“What the hell happened?” Acerola demanded. Ilima stood, looking up at Acerola from down in the sand. His eyes were blank. He deftly leapt up onto the wooden patio so that now he towered over Acerola. She wanted to back away, but she was right at the edge of the lanai.

“As I said, advanced techniques for battling,” Ilima reiterated. “If Lillie is going to have a chance at beating me with her bagon, she needs to know how to fight.”

“Sure, but you could have killed her pichu!” Acerola balled her fists, the anger flowing freely through her. “Why were you working with her pichu anyway? That thing is way too weak to fight. It can barely even shock a human.”

“I wasn’t going to injure her bagon when her battle with me is so near,” Ilima responded, “and she has no other pokemon.”

“But that’s…”

“And besides, Ace,” Ilima scowled – a subtle and light thing, a curling of the lip that was almost not even there, “I’m a Trial Captain for a reason. I know exactly what I’m doing. Her pichu wasn’t going to die, so stop being so dramatic.”

Acerola scoffed in disgust, worming her way around Ilima. She brushed past him. Lillie would need someone to comfort her. Ilima grabbed her arm, pulling her backwards. Acerola yelped in surprise as Ilima pressed her against the wall of his cabin, one hand planted firmly on the wood next to her head. He loomed over her, his expression dark, his body inches from hers as her back was against the cabin.

 _Too close._ Acerola swallowed. Her heart began to pound.

“You know that I know what I’m doing, Ace,” Ilima said, his voice calm and steady. Acerola glanced to the side, making sure they were both out of sight of anyone inside the house, before narrowing her eyes at him. Ilima had her pinned.

“I know you do,” Acerola’s voice was equally level. “I’m not doubting your ability to do your job, I’m doubting the necessity of its intensity.”

“Lillie and Hau could die out there.” Ilima’s voice shuddered just slightly, a gesture Acerola picked up on immediately. “Alola is a dangerous place. Young trainers die all the time from their own inexperience. The only reason we still allow kids to go on these journeys is–”

“Tradition, I know.”

“At least in other regions there are codified gym systems. Trainers build up strength on paths treaded by thousands, tens of thousands before them.” Ilima’s voice almost shook, his eyes darting from Acerola to the ground. “Here, it’s not so sanitary. Alola is still very much wild. Even Melemele, the most populated island, still has areas where one can disappear without a trace.”

“She chose her path,” Acerola said. There was a long pause as the two former friends stared at one another, the air tense between them. Finally, Acerola sighed and turned away. “I need to check on her.”

Brushing his hand away, Acerola left Ilima on the porch, the man staring intently at the floor. Acerola breathed deep to calm the violent beating of her heart, but despite her best efforts it just didn’t seem to slow.

She turned back to him at the door, narrowing her eyes.

“Tomorrow we’re going to battle, right?” She spat the words as if they were poison. “I hope you’re ready.”


	19. Part I: Lillie X

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: I swapped an event around because I felt the story flowed better if it occurred before what I already posted. I removed the battle scene in Chapter 18 and modified the ending of chapter 17. 18 has been replaced by a different chapter, one that's mostly old content from pre-rewrite. This chapter as well is mostly from pre-rewrite. Both have been updated to fit within the logical sequence of the story as I've laid it out in the rewrite. The battle scene will be added back in later this week.
> 
> See Chapter 18 for a more extensive note about the rewrite.

****“Alright,” Ilima stretched, elongating his torso and reaching far upwards, “let’s get to work on battling. Acerola’s had much more time to work with you than I have this week. She and I have discussed at length what sorts of exercises she’s run you through.”

“She seemed pretty mad about your decision,” Lillie quipped.

“She’ll get over it.”

They stood together on the cold beach as morning was just beginning to warm the sand, the slight breeze ruffling through Lillie’s long hair. She considered putting it up in a ponytail, but decided against it.

Acerola and Hau had left the house a little over an hour earlier. After Acerola was gone, Ilima had cooked a meal for his yungoos. She wasn’t sure of the significance. She had watched in relative silence, Ilima bending down to stroke his pokemon as it ate its food.

Now they were on the sand, Ilima appearing relatively relaxed. Lillie thought of the day before, of Acerola’s breakdown in Lillie’s room after being kissed by the normal-type captain. She expected to feel some sort of the resentment for the man, some kind of defensive response. At first she did. After all, he’d caused so much pain for Acerola!

And yet…

“What did you want to work on with me?” Lillie looked up at Ilima expectantly.

She remembered that surge of disappointment that had run through her yesterday. Ilima had walked all over Acerola when the two of them had their disagreement. All Acerola had done was bite her lip and look away. It was the same this morning. Acerola seemed livid, but she didn’t fight back.

“Advanced battling techniques,” Ilima said. Lillie reached for Koa’s ball. “With your pichu.”

“My pichu?” Lillie paused. A sudden hesitation. “But I haven’t worked with him at all yet–”

“Might as well get started.” Ilima smiled at her. “Let’s get a handle on him first.”

Lillie breathed deeply and reached for her only other pokeball attached to her belt. She clicked the button on the front of the ball and it snapped open, a light emerging onto the sand between them both. It coalesced into the form of a small, yellow mouse-like pokemon. It turned about itself, blinking quickly and sniffing as it reacted to its new surroundings.

It turned around, looking up at the two humans, its mouth opening slightly to reveal two long canines. It locked eyes with Lillie, staring intently at her.

“H-Hey there, little guy.” Lillie smiled, reaching a hand to her pokemon. It extended its body towards her outstretched palm, sniffing the air hesitantly. “What’s your–”

The pichu bolted, taking off quickly to circle around her. Lillie yelped, recoiling as the pokemon skirted by her. Ilima grabbed Lillie’s hand, wresting the pokeball from her. As it leaped from the sand onto the rock wall forming the boundary of Ilima’s property, the pichu dematerialized into a red fog, returning to its pokeball just as quickly as it was loosed.

Ilima sighed as he returned Lillie’s ball to her.

“I was somewhat worried about this,” he said, shaking his head. Lillie looked up at him and he continued. “The pikachu evolutionary line are known to be quirky when it comes to interacting with humans. Usually they aren’t too bad when they’re caught young like yours, but it’s always a toss-up.”

“Quirky?” Lillie parroted him. Ilima nodded.

“You know the story of Red from Kanto, right?” Ilima asked her and Lillie nodded. “He and his wife are reclusive trainers, but as international celebrities we still wind up with quite a bit of information about them. Both raised pikachu.”

“I’ve heard that before,” Lillie said, looking down at her pokeball. “Red’s pikachu was said to be incredibly powerful, and his wife’s too.”

“Reportedly, Red had a lot of trouble controlling his pikachu.” Ilima folded his arms, narrowing his eyes at the pokeball in Lillie’s hand. “Its rather independent personality became notorious in international tournaments, where the pokemon would often battle without any commands from Red.”

“And his wife’s pikachu?”

Ilima chuckled, as if thinking about her amused him. “She’s an interesting woman. A doctor, actually, as well as a trainer. Amarillo del Bosque Verde, affectionately known as Yellow. Probably because of her husband. Her pikachu was probably the exact opposite in personality as Red’s, but no less dangerous.

“Pikachu are highly social animals, and very intelligent to boot. They have more complicated personalities than most other pokemon because of this, which is likely what makes them so difficult to control. If you’re serious about that pichu, then you have a lot of work cut out for you.”

“How do I get it to not run away?” Lillie asked, considering the pichu’s ball.

“By removing the option.”

It was a lengthy process, one that took the entire rest of the morning. Ilima stood by Lillie, his yungoos patrolling the sand near where they were going to release the pichu. The next time they released it, it immediately bolted, struggling to escape out into the wild. Lillie fumbled with its pokeball and the yungoos scampered after the small yellow mouse pokemon.

Before Lillie could return it to its ball, the pichu was bodily tackled by Ilima’s yungoos, the two pokemon sprawling in the sand, kicking up small clouds around themselves. Sparks flew as if on instinct, but the yungoos held its grip firm. A few moments later, Lillie collected herself enough to return her pokemon to its ball. She sighed.

“Again,” Ilima said, gesturing to the pokeball.

So they repeated the process. Releasing the pichu, letting it try to flee, then returning it to its ball. And again. And again. Over and over they did this, until Ilima and Lillie were relaxing together on the porch, halfheartedly releasing and capturing the pichu. Every time the pokemon would start running later, it ran slower and was captured quicker.

After an hour of this, the pokemon stopped running altogether. Lillie released it from its ball and it stood on the sand, staring at the two trainers angrily.

“It… it worked.” Lillie gawked at the immobile pichu. “Your plan worked.”

“Of course it did.”

Lillie stood, reaching her hand out. The pichu was panting, its tiny shoulders slumped, its eyes watching her every movement. Small sparks erupted from its cheeks, startling Lillie for just a moment. She pushed through her surprise, grabbing the pichu by the scruff of its neck. It struggled weakly and ineffectively.

“Hana.” Lillie smiled at the pichu. “I’ll name you Hana.”

“The Alolan word for work?” Ilima strode towards Lillie. He lifted the pichu’s tail, looking under quickly. “The pichu is male, by the way.”

“Hana still fits!” Lillie said with a huff. “Boys can be named Hana too.”

“Why that name in particular?”

Lillie poked the cheek of the pichu, setting off a tiny cascade of sparks, and smiled up at her mentor. Ilima cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Because he’s a lot of work to train!”

“Aha,” Ilima smirked, “of course.”

The next hour was much of the same ground Koa had covered earlier in the week: letting Hana get comfortable running about on its own – though they were careful not to let the pokemon out of their sights lest he decided to flee. Eventually they moved on to basic commands, telling the pokemon to move from one spot to another or to stop. Often Hana would stand and stare, but some aggressive motivation from Ilima’s yungoos got him moving quickly.

“It’s kinda amazing how well your yungoos listens to you,” Lillie commented as she watched the pokemon patrolling the far wall, staring at Hana suspiciously. Ilima stood next to her. He’ had been guiding her through the exercises for controlling Hana for hours, issuing terse but effective instructions. Any mistakes Lillie might have made on her own he corrected. Now Hana sat in the sand, one yellow arm idly drawing lines.

“I’ve had him for a long time.”

“I heard the story from Acerola,” Lillie stated. Even the mere mention of her name brought an unexpected wave of heat to Lillie’s face. She blinked and looked away from her mentor to hide the sudden redness of her cheeks.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, how Acerola beat your yungoos over the head with a rock and how you ran around screaming when the pokemon turned on you.” Lillie found herself saying the words before she realized it. She stared up at Ilima, her mouth open with a sudden embarrassment. After a long moment of them staring at each other, Ilima chuckled, his mouth turning up in a wistful half-smile.

“Yes,” Ilima nodded, “I remember that well. Three years is a long time, but not long enough to forget something like that.”

Lillie breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that Ilima hadn’t gotten angry.

“You two are getting close,” Ilima said.

“Hm?”

“Here, let’s continue,” Ilima said, standing. He extended an arm to help Lillie up, which she quickly took. He jumped down onto the sand, startling Hana. Lillie followed. “Acerola has always been the type to make friends easily, so I’m not surprised that you two hit it off so quickly.”

There was an odd inflection in his voice that Lillie couldn’t quite place. Ilima continued.

“I want you to be strong, like she is. It might not seem that way from the way I talk to her, but Acerola is actually more powerful than I am.” Ilima shook his head. “In fact, she’s probably one of the strongest trainers in the entire Alola region.”

“Wait, what?”

“That’s why I don’t worry about her the way I worry about you and Hau.” Ilima bent down, swiftly grabbing Hana by the scruff of the neck and pulling the pokemon up to eye level. The pichu struggled briefly before settling into an uncomfortable resignation, staring back at Ilima with an annoyed expression, too fed up with his capture to offer any real resistance.

“You… worry about us?”

“Of course I do.” Ilima scratched Hana’s nose and the pichu tried to bite him. “Alola is dangerous, and I’ve met more than a handful of trainers that ended up injured or missing on their journeys here.”

“Ah…”

“I… I saw Acerola die,” Ilima said suddenly, passing Hana over to Lillie, who held him in both arms. The pichu looked up at Lillie, sniffing her curiously before settling in her arms, his extreme dissatisfaction and resignation with his situation displayed on his tiny, cute, captive face.

“What?”

“Metaphorically, I mean. I don’t know how much Acerola has told you about me, but I’m sure you know that she and I have a history. We traveled together for a time.” Ilima pocketed his hands, looking over the ocean. The air was turning cold in the afternoon, but the sun still beat down. “The ghost trial at the time was… unusual. It was a test of mental fortitude, where you would dream of nightmares and horror put into your mind by a specially trained gengar.

“Acerola went under first. She came out crying and I held her and comforted her. I went in expecting to see everything that I love lost, to see Alola burn, to see Acerola humiliated or killed. Instead…” Ilima swallowed, and Lillie could see his jaw muscles clenching. She could see the struggle he was enduring just by talking about this. She wanted to reach out to him, to tell him it was okay, that she understood, but she stopped herself. She _didn’t_ understand, and she wanted to hear him tell his tale.

“Instead?”

“Instead I saw myself with everything I thought I ever wanted. I saw Alola as an independent nation, in control of its own destiny. I saw Unovan diplomats signing our treaty of independence bloodlessly. I saw Acerola leading the Kanaka Maoli, reviving the Ali`i and restoring the divine right to rule.” Ilima swallowed. “I wandered through this dreamscape, wondering why it wasn’t falling apart. Why it wasn’t burning. I walked through the streets to Hau`oli City and threw open the doors of the new, beautifully-constructed palace to congratulate Acerola, the new Queen of Alola.

“And I realized why I was being shown this.

“Acerola stood in front of her stone throne, the cape of magnificent sunset-colored bird feathers strewn over her back. A man stood at her side, holding her hand. The new king. It… it wasn’t me.” Lillie inhaled sharply as she listened to him. “The man’s face wasn’t clear, but I knew what it meant. There are numerous descendants of Ali`i left in Alola, but none of them are direct patrilineal descendants of royalty the way Acerola is. They are less pure, less noble, and would not be able to unite the people. But still, they are Ali`i. I… I am not.

“When I woke I realized that my very dream would drive Acerola away from me. Even if she did everything that I asked, even if everything went as planned, I would lose her. I cannot fight tradition. Acerola would be forced to marry an Ali`i, and it would be a betrayal of the Kanaka Maoli that I server for me to allow for any other option.

“I stopped caring about anything else. If I would lose her anyway, then there was no point in living a happy life with her at my side. I had to do what I could to unite the people, to elevate her to the throne. When I woke from the nightmare, I did not cry. I had become steel.” Ilima paused. “And… I failed anyway and I lost her for nothing.”

Lillie stood next to him, thinking of the kiss she witnessed and of the other side of Acerola’s story. She looked up at Ilima, saw the way he gripped his fists in subtle, subdued anger, saw the way his jaw clenched and his shoulders slumped just a little. He was a defeated man, a man who had fought for his dream and lost.

“Do you still love her?” Lillie asked. She felt her chest tighten when she asked the question, but she found she had to ask it anyway.

“I…” Ilima sighed. “No. Not the way I did. When I kissed her yesterday, it was an attempt to manipulate her into getting her to work with me again. It was… It was clumsy, and I shouldn’t have done it.”

“Ah, I mean, uh,” Lillie fumbled over her words, “what kiss?”

Ilima arced an eyebrow at her. “I know you saw it, so don’t pretend for the sake of politeness that you didn’t.”

Lillie blushed, squeezing Hana a little bit in her arms. The pichu protested, wriggling uselessly. The two stood on the beach for a long time in silence, one that Lillie found herself unable to break. Eventually, however, Ilima showed himself to be the one with more courage.

“Alright,” he said, clapping his hands together. “I said we were going to work on advanced battling techniques. Since we’ve managed to instill some basic level of compliance into your pichu, I’d like to continue working with him.”

“With battling?”

“Yes. I don’t want to battle with your bagon, because I don’t want Koa injured. If Koa got injured now, it would just diminish his ability in your fight with me tomorrow. Medical technologies for pokemon are very good, but your Bagon could be out for a few days.” Ilima stepped briskly away from her, whistling. His yungoos immediately leaped to his side. “Now, you need to understand something, Lillie.”

“What’s that?” Lillie set Hana loose on the ground. The pichu sat at her feet, staring warily around itself.

“Battles are dangerous. You or your pokemon could get killed or injured. It’s a fact.” Ilima turned about, standing roughly twenty feet away. “I’m not going to hold back on you here, you know? I want you to learn how to defend yourself properly. Are you okay with that?”

Lillie swallowed. “But we both know your yungoos is going to win.”

“Of course. It’s your job to make sure you lose in a way that results in the least amount of pain. Are you okay with this?”

Lillie stared at Ilima for a long moment before nodding. “Yes, I am.”

“I won’t hold back.”

“That’s fine.”

* * *

“Acerola, please!” Lillie grabbed her hand, stopping the girl. Hana’s ball lay on Lillie’s lap, both of the girls having retreated to Lillie’s room. Acerola was bristling, nearly shaking with anger. Lillie gently set Hana’s ball aside and stood next to the ghost trainer. “It happened exactly as I said it did. Ilima wasn’t doing anything wrong. He specifically made sure I was okay with–”

“That’s not asking,” Acerola bit back. She wrenched her hand from Lillie’s turning toward her. Her entire expression was contorted with anger, his eyes narrowed and her teeth bared. Lillie had never seen the girl so incensed.

“I worked with him on battling techniques for three hours, Ace,” Lillie pleaded.

“So what?”

“It was only at the end that Hana got injured. The rest of the time we were working quite well. I learned a lot! It was important!” Lillie stopped wringing her hands, instead stepping forward towards the shorter girl.

“How could it have been important enough to hurt your pichu like that?”

“As I said, that only happened at the end!” Lillie felt herself getting flustered. “When his yungoos got hold of Hana, Ilima stopped him quickly. He was concerned, Ace! He wasn’t–”

“He was being overly aggressive,” Acerola interjected. “It was entirely deliberate. And to think I could trust him! He put your pichu in danger!”

Acerola turned back to the door, making as if she was going to stomp right back out into the living room and confront Ilima again. Lillie felt a sudden upwell of frustration. She opened her mouth to talk but the words came out as a harsh retort instead.

“And so what?” Lillie snapped. Acerola turned, her angry expression shifting into confusion. “So what if he put Hana in danger? So what if he injures my pokemon?” Acerola opened her mouth to say something, but Lillie immediately cut her off. “I didn’t become a trainer because I wanted to be coddled, Ace! Just because I’m weak now doesn’t mean I want to stay this way! I know full well how dangerous it is to be a trainer. _I accept that._ If that means Hana or Koa get hurt, then so be it. I’m not going to casually disregard their well-being, but if I’ve learned _anything_ from being here, it’s that you have to make hard choices. You have to do what you must! And I don’t need _you_ or anyone else trying to stop me from being able to prove myself!”

Acerola stared at her in shock. Several times the ghost trainer tried to open her mouth to say something back, but each time she failed. After a long while, Acerola bit her lip, looking away. Lillie thought she saw tears rimming the older girl’s eyes. Lillie felt her stomach drop at the sight.

“Ace…”

“No, you’re right,” Acerola said quietly. “You’re completely right. I have to… I have to get some sleep. I’m battling Ilima tomorrow.”

“Ace!” Lillie extended an arm, but the girl had already left the room, closing the door softly behind herself.

Lillie sighed, collapsing back onto her bed. Beyond the small wooden slat windows, the songs of the froakie called out from the night, Lillie only now noticing them again. With them was the sound of insect pokemon buzzing or the occasional hoot of a bird pokemon she didn’t recognize. Lillie stared at the floor between her bare feet.

“I didn’t mean to yell at you…” Lillie mumbled softly, alone in her room.

The sounds of the night kept right on chiming out, and Lillie turned over, running one finger over Hana’s ball. The pokemon had been given medicine. It would likely pull through – the bleeding hadn’t been as bad as it looked. Lillie sighed, pulling the string to the lamp sitting on her night stand, engulfing the room in blackness and closing her eyes.

She awoke to the sound of Ilima sitting on her bed next to her, nudging her awake. It was a misty, turquoise morning, and Hau was already gone. She hadn’t even seen him come in to sleep.

“Ilima?” Lillie said groggily. The trial captain’s face was calm and impassive, his gaze cool.

“My battle with Acerola is soon,” Ilima said, his voice a quiet whisper. “Get ready.”


	20. Part I: Gladion VII

Kaipo and Yuri packed into the front seat of the small van, both men wearing body-armor and carrying at least a side-arm on their person. Gladion opened up the door to the back seat, which was really the middle seat. Most of the space in the back was taken up by equipment – tents, knives, guns. A few days ago, he would have thought the load-out was way too much for finding a missing girl.

Now he wasn’t so sure.

Guzma had seen them off with a scowl, and Lei had hugged him goodbye, and Gladion blankly went along where he was directed. It wasn’t until he slid into the van that he noticed something very much out of place.

“Not so close, you rat,” Faba growled, extending one elbow to push Gladion off of him. He stared at the prissy man in his now-stained white coat and his bright green glass, wondering why the hell he was even there.

“He demanded to come along,” Kaipo stated, sliding into the driver’s seat as he answered Gladion’s mental query, his gruff voice oddly light in tone. He had a hint of an Alolan accent – just enough to show his roots. The big Alolan man turned the key in the ignition and the van rumbled to life. Yuri nodded in agreement, his long blond ponytail bobbing up and down just once.

“I can’t have you three damaging valuable property.” Faba squirmed as Gladion settled into place next to him, lifting himself just a bit so he could squeeze his seatbelt across his stomach and into its socket. “I said not so close!”

“Can’t do anything about that,” Gladion mumbled, gesturing to the folded-down seat next to him, the couple of tents that he had climbed over to get in. The van shook as it drove slowly down the uneven dirt road. Ahead of them the gate into Po Town was being lifted.

“You two try to get along,” Kaipo said at them as he waved one heavily tattooed arm out the window at another member of Team Skull. The other man waved back. “It’s only an hour or so drive to get up into the reserve. After that the roads are very worn down, so we’ll be moving rather slow. Get comfortable.”

“An hour drive?” Gladion arced an eyebrow. Next to him, Faba was trying his best to squirrel his way closer to the window, as far from Gladion as physically possible. “How is she so far out? Wait,” Gladion leaned forward, “how do you even know where she is?”

“Girl moves fast,” Kaipo responded. They were out of the walls now, following the narrow dirt road as it arced away from them. At least they’d be on asphalt soon. “Probably the pokemon she’s got with her. We’re gonna get in front of her so she can’t outrun us. Might need a bit of distance for that.”

“And how do you know where she is?”

“Tracking device,” Faba growled, lifting a smartphone and displaying a simple map of Ula`Ula Island. A bright blue dot could be clearly seen. “At least you buffoons were smart enough to put one of those on her.”

“The Doc implanted it the first night she was here,” Kaipo elaborated. “Better safe than sorry.”

“You what?” Gladion gasped in surprise. “You put a tracking chip in her? She’s not an animal!”

“Yeah, well, be grateful for it, kid,” Kaipo retorted, “otherwise we’d be scouring these mountains for months looking for a fucking ghost.” The big man sighed, the van rattling again from another dip in the road. “We know where she is and roughly where she’s headed. We’re gonna cut her off from further up the mountain, where she isn’t expecting it.”

Gladion leaned back against his seat.

What the hell was he going to do?

* * *

Withered, sparse trees gave way to lushness, greenness, at least for now. Gladion stared at them dully. The slopes of Mauna Hokulani were gentle – here, at least – and densely forested. The dirt roads winding through the greenery were thin and worn, shaking the vehicle heavily. For the last hour he’d stared absently out the front window, trying his best to ignore Faba’s furtive bickering and complaining. Kaipo had put on some reggae, and not the good kind. Eventually Yuri reached over and turned it off. Aside from Faba’s whining, the van ride so far had been mostly silent.

“So you and the girl, uh, you two were together?” Gladion snapped back to attention. Gladion looked around, realizing Kaipo was talking to him. Gladion blinked lazily, glancing about the cramped interior of the vehicle. “Braddah, you hear me?”

“Together?” Gladion tried to shove one of the tents out of the way to give his legs just a bit more room.

“Yeah. Guzma said you two were bangin’,” Kaipo called back from the front seat, his hands tight around the steering wheel. The sun was high in the sky, but mostly obscured by the foliage around them.

“Animals,” Faba seethed.

“Even though you was guarding the girl, brah?” Kaipo shifted in his seat as he spoke. Yuri popped a cigarette out from a small case, lighting it deftly and rolling down his window just a crack. “Poor Lei.”

“Aren’t we on a job?” Gladion retorted. “What’s the point of asking that?”

“Would help me if I knew your relationship with our target,” Kaipo explained. “Guzma told me to keep an eye on you in case you did anything funny.”

Faba sunk back into his seat, but Gladion couldn’t help but notice the man’s constant glances over to him. Gladion shifted, one hand spinning Null’s ball about, trying to act indifferent to the rest of the people in the car.

“No need to worry about that,” Gladion said. It was enough to satisfy Kaipo, and the man didn’t press the question.

Gladion stared out at the forest, the green fading to black further in.

_Where are you, Luna?_

It was another thirty minutes of driving before they turned onto a sharp, inclined part of the road, one that extended far up Mauna Hokulani. Gladion noted how the landscape was changing from endless forests, the trees growing further and further apart. Further up the mountain, thousands of feet up, the trees would continue to fade away until there was just bare soil.

When they finally parked, Gladion stepped out of the car gingerly, careful not to get in the way of the older men. Faba stared accusingly around himself,, two pokeballs at his belt, swearing and cursing continuously under his breath. Kaipo had let his lone mightyena out, which was taking a mighty piss against one of the trees. The big local man also had a rifle over the shoulder and a combat knife in his belt. Yuri, silent as always, didn’t seem to have much to get ready, his belt already stuffed with pokeballs and knives.

 _Team Skull_ , Gladion thought to himself as he watched the men prepare. Kaipo pulled a long tent bag out from the backseat of the truck, tossing it to Gladion.

“You carry this,” the man grunted. Gladion knew better than to argue.

Generally when Gladion worked with members of Team Skull, it was with the younger miscreants of Guzma’s organization. People with tempers, who thought they were tough, or who otherwise just wanted freedom from some sort of perceived oppression in their lives. All in all, they were unimpressive: pokemon swipers, petty thieves, juvenile robbers.

Kaipo and Yuri worked with an efficiency that Gladion was starting to find increasingly uncomfortable. Yuri, the silent one, was probably the oldest of the group, his long blonde hair tied back into a severe ponytail, and he looked completely at ease with the number of weapons strapped to his body. He carried a large trunk with him, easily over four feet long. Kaipo had fewer weapons on him, but with bigger effect: a large gun, a large knife, and one mightyena outfitted in metal body armor, claws and fangs.

No, these were not kids out to make a point against their parents or who lacked a place in the world. These were the movers and shakers of Team Skull, the hands that guided weapon that Guzma built.

“Mosquitos!?” A shriek from the side and the panicked sound of skin slapping skin.

And then there was Faba.

“Let’s go,” Kaipo said, shutting the trunk door of the large van. Gladion silently fell in line.

If worse came to worst, Null might be able to get him away from the group. Gladion eyed Yuri’s back for a long time, puzzling it through his head. He needed to get Luna away from them all when he found her.

The question increasingly becoming difficult to answer was how.

* * *

Gray, wet clouds hung low over the slopes of Mauna Hokulani, limiting his vision to only a few feet in front of him. Shifting on the thin sheet of plastic between his body and the ground, he could feel the rocks poking through the dirt and into his sides. What little cushioning of grass existed could not even begin to comfort him.

They had hiked for hours up into the forest, Kaipo constantly glancing from his phone – where Luna’s bright blue dot was constantly visible – to the terrain around them. Faba had complained the whole way, even after Kaipo threatened to shove a sock into his mouth. Yuri seemed indifferent to it all.

After a long while, Kaipo ordered to set down camp and, exhausted, Gladion tried his best to help set up the tent he was supposed to share with Faba. Faba, of course, simply sat on a rock nearby the entire time, staring indignantly at the rest of the bunch. When it was done, the scientist climbed inside and promptly fell asleep.

Gladion shifted against the wall of the miserable tent. Perhaps it was big enough for one person on their own, but two? Faba was going to throw a fit if he woke up and Gladion wanted nothing to do with that.

His plan to relax while he could was failing. Gladion swore, sitting up. At least in here there were no mosquitoes. He glanced over to Faba. At the very least when he slept the man didn’t as much as move an inch. Even his breathing barely existed, the only evidence of it being the infinitesimally small rise and fall of his chest. Even so, Gladion felt cramped against the wall.

Kaipo stayed outside the entire time, staring at themonitor of his phone, watching the tracker as the day grew darker. Froakie were starting to call their two-note songs, signaling the coming of the night frogs, their desperate cries starting to fill every inch of the air.

Night finally did come, but in slow sluggish gasps that gradually brought up the volume of the abominably loud forest, replacing the twittering of a thousand tiny birds with the high pitched chirping of the frogs. Their calls were frantic and hurried, forcing life into a forest of mud and twigs that didn’t seem to deserve it.

“Paradise,” Gladion spat the words, rolling over and staring out the thin mesh of the side of the tent. A pikipek landed a few feet away, digging its drilled beak into a crevice of the thin tree closest to him. The forest was filled with trees just like it – scraggly, hard trunks barely ten inches around with sharp, jagged bark.

Gladion sat up, scaring the wild pikipek back into the coverage of branches above them. He watched as the creature flitted away, joining a few of its brethren on a thin perch far above, just barely invisible through the fog. He saw Kaipo shuffle his way off from the campsite to relieve himself.

His phone said 6:23 PM, and he was much more tired than he would normally have been at this time. But in these conditions, with the rocky soil beneath him and Faba’s body pressed rudely against his own, Gladion was more than happy to get to his feet. Gladion pulled open the front zipper of the tent, extracting himself with some difficulty.

Kaipo was walking back to the camp, nodding in acknowledgment to Gladion as he stood.

“Long day ahead of us tomorrow,” Kaipo said, clapping Gladion on the shoulder. “Luckily it’s all downhill.”

“Luckily,” Gladion replied.

Kaipo set about the camp, patting his mightyena’s head and gathering sticks and other dry wood from the ground. The mightyena lifted one massive claw to its neck, scratching underneath the armor plating it wore. Gladion stood to the side, watching the large man and his dog.

“Kid,” Kaipo muttered, snapping Gladion to attention. “Clear a spot in the brush for a fire and make a ring of rocks to contain it.”

“What for?” Gladion retorted. “It’s not particularly cold.”

Kaipo sighed. “Are you gonna go to sleep tonight without something to eat?”

“We didn’t bring any food.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Kaipo gestured to the other tent, the one Kaipo and Yuri were sharing. Yuri slipped out into the crisp night air, his stern pale eyes reflecting the murky gray of the forest. “Yuri’s got that covered.”

The silent pale man slipped away from camp, leaving Gladion and Kaipo behind. Gladion cleared the ground, brushing aside rocks and twigs. Kaipo piled up dry wood for fuel, sorting them into large branches, smaller branches and thin underbrush.

“You do much camping before, kid?” Kaipo squatted by the ring of stones when he was done piling wood, adjusting the circle to be a bit bigger and brushing away small dry plant material. His mightyena curled up on the ground next to its master, digging its fangs into a particularly thick branch the pokemon had found. Gladion sat cross-legged on the ground, annoyed at the wetness of the grass seeping through his pants.

“Not much, no.” Gladion looked away, off into the foggy forest.

“Pay attention then.” Kaipo waved an arm, motioning him closer. “I’ll teach you how to build a fire.”

Gladion raised an eyebrow at that. _Why would I need to know how to build a fire?_ Nevertheless, he stood, squatting across the circle of rocks from Kaipo and his mightyena. The big local man grabbed a fistful of the bushy dried grass and twigs, placing them in the center of the circle.

“Wood burns slower than you might think,” Kaipo instructed. Gladion half-listened, his mind elsewhere. “It’s the little stuff that gets a fire going, so you’re gonna start with a center of very light tinder for your nest.” He grabbed some of the smaller, pencil-width twigs. “Then you’re gonna build a teepee out of the smallest branches first around the brush. Leave some room so you can light the tinder later on.

“Keep building that teepee until it can support some of the larger branches. You’re not gonna need any wood bigger around than your wrist. Larger pieces of wood are actually detrimental to a small fire since they take much longer to burn.” Gladion stared absently at the construction while the man talked, occasionally nodding his head. “Build another teepee around this smaller one with the wrist-sized pieces. When you’re ready to light it up–” he pulled out a lighter, “–there’s lots of ways to light a fire without a lighter, but don’t be dumb. Just carry one around with you so you don’t have to worry about that. Light the brush from underneath and you’re good to go. If the fire doesn’t catch well, blow lightly on it to keep it burning.”

Kaipo clicked the lighter a few times, the fluttering flame flickering through the gaps in the tinder, catching quickly. Within a few minutes, the twigs were beginning to catch fire as well, the small fire growing steadily. Gladion stared at it for a long while as Kaipo went back into the tent. He emerged with his rifle and combat knife, strapping the knife to his belt and laying the rifle on the ground next to him.

 _They’re going to be using those on Luna,_ Gladion thought, feeling his breath quicken with the sight of the weaponry.

“How, uh,” Gladion’s voice cracked and he coughed, clearing his throat. Kaipo looked up at him, the grizzled man running one hand along his thick black beard. “How long have you known how to, uh, use those?”

“A while.” Kaipo shrugged. “Joined the Unovan military straight out of high school a lot of years ago. Got dishonorably discharged.”

“What for?” Gladion stood awkwardly across from the fire, his hands dug deep into his jacket pockets.

“Killed another soldier over in the Sandbox for trying to rape a native woman.” Gladion swallowed. The Sandbox? It was a rude name for a certain number of desert countries halfway across the world from Alola, where Unova had been fighting in wars for as long as Gladion could remember.

“The military didn’t have you tried for murder?”

“They couldn’t prove it was me,” Kaipo shook his head, “so they drummed up another excuse to get me kicked out. The official reason was assault of a superior officer – a story that was entirely fake. After all that went down, I slummed around countries like Kalos for a long while before some old war buddies called me up. Said they had some unofficial jobs they wanted me for, so I became a merc.”

A mercenary. That explained the combat armor for his mightyena. Gladion eyed the pokemon for a long moment. It was curled up near Kaipo, its head nestled against the ex-soldier’s leg. At first glance the pokemon looked to be relaxing, but its sharp ears were pointed straight forward, its eyes open and very much at alert.

“Why’d you join Team Skull?” This man was starting to sound more and more dangerous, but Gladion needed to know as much as possible if he was going to help Luna.

“Money,” Kaipo stated simply, “and I guess I wanted to work in my homeland. Guzma’s an idiot, but he knows this kind of business.”

“What about Yuri?” Gladion gestured to the gap in the forest where the silent man had disappeared into. Kaipo laughed, a sharp and short sound.

“Fuck if I know that man’s story,” Kaipo shrugged. “Heard him say all of three words since I’ve started working with him. Damn good shot, though.”

Gladion nodded.

It was an hour before Yuri finally came back, two gumshoos in his grip. Kaipo spent the time checking and rechecking his guns, his mightyena always at his side. Yet another reminder that Gladion was dealing with professionals. Faba was up and moving about by then, and the thin man blanched heavily at the sight of the two big, dead mongoose pokemon. Gladion felt his own stomach turn as well when Faba began demanding to know why they didn’t just bring food from Po Town.

“Because we were in a rush,” Kaipo explained, prompting even more arguing from the scientist.

Kaipo with his rifle and armored mightyena. Yuri with his knives and silence. These were dangerous men. Violent men. And Luna was out there somewhere, a tracking device beeping out her location every second to the phone sitting on Kaipo’s knee. Gladion nervously ran Null’s pokeball through his fingers.

Froakie calls filled the night as the sky turned to black, each passing second grating on Gladion’s nerves.

 _I can’t do this._ Gladion stared at Yuri’s bloody hands as he skinned the two dead pokemon. _I can’t do this._


	21. Part I: Lillie XI

True to Ilima’s word, all four trainers stood out on the sand that morning, and Lillie found herself anxious for it all to start.

It had been a long morning. Hau attempted to make conversation, but none of the others were having any of it. Ilima had cooked them a light breakfast of eggs, bacon and pancakes, which they had eaten quietly. It had been a tense gathering, with Acerola’s brooding presence looming ominously over them.

Acerola walked away from them, kicking up a light huff of sand with every step. Hau followed after her, chattering excitedly, to which she replied with short, barely interested bursts.

“Two things to note right away, Lillie,” Ilima started, his voice low as Acerola took her place across the yard. “First, what is your opponent’s emotional state? Second, how will they lead the fight?”

Acerola stood still now, tossing a pokeball up and down. She commented something to Hau, who was bursting at the seams with excitement, waving his arms and jumping up and down. Lillie could hear his shouts clearly.

Ilima continued: “Acerola is angry, in part because of personal issues between us. This was intentional. Unexpectedly, she’s stressed about you.” Ilima glanced at Lillie. “The fact that you two had an argument last night works in my favor. Acerola is stronger than I am. If I am going to win, then I need every advantage possible.”

Lillie opened her mouth to protest, but found she couldn’t.

_It makes sense._

“Knowing your opponent is critical to close matches. In professional tournaments, likely you’ll have much more time to study your enemy before the actual battle.” Lillie nodded, listening intently. “Out in the wild, however, you must rely on quick judgments. What are the circumstances of the battle? Are they hostile? Are they playing around? How confident are they?”

“So what do you think Acerola will do first?” Acerola asked, her eyes flitting from Ilima’s passive stance to Acerola’s crossed arms and narrowed eyes.

“She will lead powerfully, likely with a pokemon meant to end this quickly. She wants to put me in my place.” Ilima hadn’t changed his posture or his manner of speech but _something_ was different. “Her likely pick for the two-v.-two match will be dhelmise and palossand.”

“Why those two?” Lillie ran through a mental list of pokemon in her head. Dhelmise were very rare, and she couldn’t quite put a finger to exactly what they looked like. Palossand, however… “We’re on a beach. A palossand would have the advantage.”

“It’s also her oldest pokemon, the one she’s most familiar with,” Ilima stated. “The dhelmise will lead, but even if I know it’s coming it will be a very difficult pokemon to overcome.”

“Are you done, Ilima?” Acerola called out, her eyes wild, a long grin stretching across her face. “I want to crush you and get this over with already.”

“She’s different today too...” Lillie said quietly, to herself, but Ilima nodded in response.

“Acerola was always a very strong battler,” Ilima said. “I have no delusions of this being an easy match.”

“I’m tired of waiting,” Acerola called out, tossing an ultra ball into the air. It soared high, snapping open. A haze of light erupted from the opened ball, spewing out into the air. A form solidified from the madness, taking it’s shape.

The massive anchor slammed into the earth, the sound alone beating the air like a blast of thunder, the shockwave vibrating up into Lillie’s feet and legs. A heavy cloud of sand burst forward, obscuring Lillie’s vision. Hau was shouting something incomprehensible and Ilima smiled. After a moment the sand started to clear, revealing the dark iron and ocean green moss. Nearly thirteen feet tall, the pokemon was completely stationary, leaning slightly to one side.

“As for me...” Ilima picked a ball from his belt, tossing it gently forward.

The shape that formed in front of him was no less massive, but entered the battlefield much more quietly. Dark, stubby legs and a large, cream-colored belly. Lillie recognized the pokemon easily as it materialized softly on the battlefield.

“Snorlax is my only logical answer to the dhelmise’s size,” Ilima stated. He walked over to the side, motioning Lillie to follow. Once he had a clear view of Acerola and her pokemon again, he stopped. “However powerful your pokemon is, physical size is a difficult hurdle to overcome. A tiny rattata, no matter how well-trained, will struggle to overcome a massive opponent like an onyx.”

“Are you ready, Ilima?” Acerola called. Ilima nodded.

Acerola smiled again, that confident, angry, hurt smile.

And Lillie found herself entranced.

Acerola’s loose t-shirt billowed in the unsettled wind, stern eyes affixed ahead. Standing across the sandy beach, the short girl seemed to loom tall, the massive shadow of her dhelmise cast just to her left. Arms folded, long black hair tied back in a loose ponytail, her bare feet planted in the ground.

She was a tower, a pillar, a bastion.

“Watch and listen carefully,” Ilima’s voice quiet, each syllable enunciated by the pulsing wind wrapping around the two stone still pokemon. His snorlax and her dhelmise.

Lillie nodded. Ilima patted his pokemon’s wide, distended stomach. Its flat, saucered feet shifted. The pokemon snorted – a wet, gurgling sound. Lillie could barely see its thick, spherical head except for two fangs, each as long as her arm, poking out from a cavernous mouth.

A loud groan as the snorlax shifted. A slight change in Acerola’s posture.

“Don’t let it get up,” she commanded, and the stillness broke.

The dhelmise’s body arced upward into the air, spinning about the axis of its wheel. Thirteen feet of raw iron rotated about in a perfect circle, one arm bodily impacting Ilima’s snorlax. Ilima jumped backwards, grabbing Lillie’s shoulder as he pulled her away from the two pokemon. The sand around the pokemon’s monstrous body jumped with the force of the blow.

Ilima’s snorlax roared, a bestial sound that tore into the early morning sky. It reverberated around Lillie, a chill running through her. In the distance a cloud of pikipek rose from the trees, taking flight in mindless panic. The snorlax continued its loud crying, it’s fattened, bulbous arms swaying.

“Get up!” Ilima shouted, and the pokemon rose.

The dhelmise retracted its iron body, the bill of the anchor dragging over the snorlax’s stomach. Flesh split open from the weight, long trails of blood leaking out. Ilima’s snorlax rolled over – surprisingly quickly for its size – onto all fours, then rolled – threw, really – itself upwards into a standing position, it’s back to Acerola.

“Again!” Acerola shouted. The dhelmise spun, this time the anchor levitating horizontally to the ground, the wind rushing past Ilima’s porch and shaking the rafters as the iron passed mere inches away. It reached around the snorlax’s arms, straight at the snorlax’s mouth.

“Not fast enough,” Ilima said. His hands still held Lillie’s upper arm tightly. She tried to struggle out of it, but the older trainer’s grip was like a vise. She looked up at his face to protest but halted herself.

Ilima stared at the pokemon battle, his gaze intensely focused.

The snorlax’s right arm shot up, thick fingers wrapping around the anchor’s arm. Caught, the dhelmise’s body struggled against the massive pokemon’s grip as the snorlax’s left arm reached in the opposite direction of the dhelmise’s shank.

“Iron does not bend,” Ilima growled, the pressure around Lillie’s arm growing tighter. She winced with pain, but the older trainer barely seemed to notice.

The snorlax roared, tilting backwards as the dhelmise’s body groaned and creaked. Muscles rippled along the normal type’s backside, its arms pulling out and away from each other, one arm wrapped right around the anchor arm and the other encircling its shank.

“Power Whip!” Acerola shouted from across the yard, and Ilima jerked Lillie’s arm.

“That idiot!” he yelled.

Lillie stared as the dhelmise’s body started to give way, the iron cracking under the snorlax’s grip. Screeching and squealing filled Lillie’s ears as she watched the helpless dhelmise breaking apart. Hau was screaming into the din, his voice barely distinct from the noise.

“You’re killing it! You’re killing it!” he cried, over and over and over again. And then...

Snap.

The dhelmise broke in two, the green moss covering the anchor distorting unintuitively as the anchor succumbed. Ilima yelled as the snorlax staggered from the sudden release in pressure. The moss warped and spun, and Lillie realized Acerola’s desperate gambit.

The moss tore under the weight of the anchor as the pokemon spun out of the snorlax’s grasp, whipping the lower end of its body about. The full weight of the anchor arms smashed into the snorlax’s head.

Oh, how it howled.

Blood sprayed onto the sand and the moss ripped further, tearing nearly completely away. The iron flew free of the pokemon.

Lillie jerked to the side suddenly, Ilima pulling her. She spun as Ilima wrapped one arm around her, pressing her close. The lower half of the dhelmise’s anchor body smashed into the sand near she stood moments before, sticking deep below the surface. Too close for comfort.

“That crazy…!” Ilima hissed, turning towards Acerola, carrying Lillie along with him. Lillie stood straight, her back pressed against his stomach, one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders now. Her hands reflexively moved to pull Ilima’s arm off her, but she hesitated.

Acerola stared at them both, her gaze like stone.

Ilima’s snorlax collapsed fully into the sand, blood bubbling from its broken nose and mouth. The levitating upper portion of the dhelmise shakily floated back to Acerola, broken and frayed moss hanging loosely from the remaining iron.

Ilima unwrapped his arm around Lillie’s body and he walked to his now motionless snorlax. The pokemon was out cold, blood flowing steadily from the large wound to its head.

“You could have killed them both,” Ilima stated, his voice back to calm, to neutral. Acerola shrugged, returning her dhelmise to her pokeball. “You’ll have to find another object for the dhelmise to attach to as well, and those wounds could kill it if it’s not treated.”

“A few more days in stasis won’t matter. Besides, dhelmise don’t feel pain anyway.” Acerola voice was dispassionate. Ilima raised his snorlax’s ball, returning it. A pool of blood remained where the pokemon had been laying comatose. Both trainers paused for a long moment. “Neither of our pokemon are able to continue,” Acerola said.

“Then this match will be settled by our next pokemon,” Ilima affirmed. “I’m assuming you’re going to use your palossand.”

“And you’ll use your toucannon in a desperate attempt to counter me.” Acerola laughed, her smile one of grim satisfaction. “I didn’t expect your snorlax to have gotten that much stronger, but I won’t make that mistake again.” A brief hesitation in her speech. “There’s only so much your giant bird can do.”

Ilima turned away from her, walking back to Lillie.

“She went for a quick win and failed,” Ilima explained when he stood next to Lillie again. She nodded. “When she realized my snorlax was too fast for her initial strategy, she made a gamble. I didn’t expect her to nearly kill her own pokemon just to win.”

“Wouldn’t breaking the anchor kill her dhelmise?” Lillie asked, looking up at Ilima.

“No,” Ilima shook his head, “the anchor is not actually part of the pokemon. A dhelmise is composed of sentient moss, and is able to control objects that it touches. To a certain extent it can levitate and support weight. So–”

“When you snapped the anchor in two, her whip attack tore the pokemon’s body apart,” Lillie interjected, “which could have killed it.”

“But it paid off,” Ilima affirmed. “She was able to knock out my snorlax. It’s not going to be cheap to get him patched up after that.”

Lillie turned back Acerola, who spoke quietly with Hau at the other end of the yard. He had tears in his eyes, and kept desperately looking back and forth between the two trainers, as if he could not comprehend what had just occurred.

“You kept your composure,” Ilima said, “as if you’ve seen worse than that. That’s a good trait to have.”

“Acerola knows the pokemon you’re going to use?” Lillie locked eyes with the other girl across the yard. For just a brief moment, Acerola’s expression softened, the barest hint of a smile on her face.

“Right. For both of us it is our best option. Though we haven’t battled in over two years, there is much that remains unchanged. She will play cautiously, even with the terrain advantage. Some of her hardest hitting attacks will be largely ineffective against my toucannon.” A brief hesitation. “Tell me, Lillie, why would Acerola pick an earthbound pokemon – and a ghost-type to boot – to go against a flier?”

Lillie wondered about that for a moment. “The terrain advantage must outweigh the type disadvantage, but...” Lillie inhaled sharply. “It’s not much of a disadvantage. Both of you are unable to utilize your strongest moves against each other because of how normal- and ghost-types interact. She may be unable to hit you with an earthquake, but that doesn’t mean she can’t knock your toucannon out of the sky.”

“Correct.” Ilima nodded. “While I may be able to whittle her down from the air, all it takes is one misstep, one mistake, and she will win.”

Ilima flicked his wrist, releasing an ultra ball. A familiar bird pokemon appeared before them both, and Lillie instinctively stepped away. Its brightly colored bill flared slightly, large nostrils at its end inhaling sharply. It spread its large wingspan, stretching its back as if happier to be out of its ball. The toucannon looked back at Ilima expectantly and he raised one arm to the sky. On command, the pokemon beat its wings, sending pulses of sand spraying into Lillie’s legs and shorts. She covered her eyes as the pokemon floated into the air, eventually gaining enough power to circle overhead. The sight of the flying pokemon triggered a thought.

“Koa!” Lillie called, releasing her bagon from his ball. The pokemon looked about himself, bewildered for just a moment. He sniffed at the air, his eyes growing wide at the scent of blood.

“Stay by me, okay?” Lillie patted the pokemon on his head and he stared into her eyes blankly. After a moment he turned to the circling pokemon overhead, his gaze fixed sharp. Lillie looked back across the yard at Acerola and watched as the trainer rubbed her bandaged hands together. Remnants of her previous encounter with a toucannon. Burn marks from saving Lillie.

“You don’t feel any trepidation from seeing this kind of pokemon again?” Ilima asked, briefly breaking his focus on Acerola to turn back to Lillie. “Even after that rather dangerous run-in?”

“It’s not the same individual. Maybe if you had captured the one that nearly killed me and Acerola I’d feel nervous.”

“Rational.” Ilima nodded approvingly.

Lillie opened her mouth to retort, but stopped herself. A mix of emotions within her, and she found herself unable to sort them out easily. Ilima had praised her, yet…

_Would I have said that four months ago when I ran from Mother?_

_Would I have even considered that a compliment?_

Acerola tossed a pokeball into the air, an amorphous blob of sand appearing before her. It vibrated and quivered, shaking itself as it moved about the yard in front of Acerola. She knelt down, patting the pokemon lightly on its head, whispering at it. Hau leaned over her shoulder, struggling to listen. Acerola smiled at her pokemon before sending it off. Koa watched the newcomer carefully.

The only indication Lillie had that it was even a pokemon was the distinct black hole in the center of the pokemon’s sandy body. Pale yellow eyes stared from within. Its shape shifted constantly, sometimes settling in coherent forms, like that of a sand castle, other times falling into disarray. After a moment the pokemon spun about, digging into the beach, spraying sand upwards.

“It begins,” Ilima stated.

The battle did not start explosively the way the previous round had. Both trainers stood across from each other, staring carefully. Toucannon far above, palossand rumbling through the earth below. For a solid fifteen seconds the two trainers gazed at each other, waiting.

“It’s not about who acts and who reacts,” Ilima said, never taking his eyes off Acerola. “There is no inherent advantage to either at this moment. It’s about who executes their part better.”

“You don’t take your eyes off of her.”

“Not for a moment.”

Another fifteen seconds passed before the stalement broke. The slightest twitch of Acerola’s left foot. Out of the corner of her eye Lillie saw Ilima’s wrist flick in response and the peace in the yard broke.

A hole opened up in the beach sand just as the toucannon arced up into the air, its beak flaring up as it prepared its first shot. A wall of sand erupted from the hole, pushed upwards by some irresistible underground force. The bird launched its seed cannon, hitting directly in the center of the upwelling wall. It caved easily, the wall of sand bursting outwards powerfully, releasing a cloud of sand high up into the air.

“A bubble?” Ilima stated, stepping back. He grabbed Lillie’s arm again, but this time she moved with him, following him closely. Koa kept close to Lillie’s legs.

The sand burst showered them both, dust filling the air. It began to dissipate quickly, carried by wind, but the extra few seconds was all that was needed. A shadow shot from the ground, swimming easily through the flying debris. Ilima’s toucannon zoomed in, readying another shot from its beak.

A hand reached from the cloud as Ilima’s toucannon swooped in close, wrapping tight around its leg. The bird disappeared into the dust. Lillie caught her breath, straining her eyes through layers of swirling sand drifting back to earth.

“I admit she hasn’t caught my toucannon like _that_ before,” Ilima said. They both stared into the cloud for another moment.

“What do you do now?”

“Wait.”

It was another weighted pause before the toucannon shot out from the top of the cloud, quickly gaining altitutude. Acerola’s palossand wrapped tight around its body, shifting and shaking as it covered the pokemon. More and more the toucannon climbed, until sandy tentacles dug into its wing feathers, pulling them closed.

The toucannon turned sharply in the air and dove, its wingspan tucked close against its chest. The palossand continued to cover it as the two pokemon descended faster and faster. A second later, the toucannon pushed through the last of the still-falling sand.

Lillie watched with bated breath as the two pokemon careened towards the earth with no sign of slowing. Hau was shouting and hollering, Acerola grimly observing, and Ilima as calm as ever.

Moments before impact a beam of light erupted from the descending ball of sand, a seed cannon, striking through the sand and slamming into the earth. More dust and debris kicked up as the palossand retreated its grip from around the toucannon’s head. In the same movement, the toucannon spun about, wresting its wings free as it pulled the palossand under its body.

An instant later they crashed into the ground.

“It shot at an angle to rotate around,” Lillie remarked. Ilima nodded. Nothing moved within the sand cloud. Ilima waited patiently. A few seconds later, a dark form became visible in the dust.

Ilima’s toucannon writhed in the impact crater, the palossand wrapped tight around its body. It was immobilized, its wings trapped shut and its head forcibly tilted into the sky and out of harm’s way. Ilima sighed.

“It shouldn’t have gotten caught in the first place.”

Ilima whistled sharply and the toucannon halted its struggle. Ilima walked around the crater towards Acerola, her lithe form appearing slowly through the floating sand. The two trainers met near the house patio – which was somehow not any worse for the wear despite the battles taking place mere tens of feet away.

Ilima bowed his head slightly, extending a hand to Acerola. Lillie watched her. She breathed heavily, sweat pouring from her brow, her eyes sharp and focused. Ilima, on the other hand, stood straight, serenely, with maybe a single drop of moisture running down the back of his neck.

“Hard fought,” Ilima smiled. Acerola didn’t smile back.

For a moment she stared at his hand, then spun about, turning her back from him and walking away.

* * *

Lillie sat with her mentor as he stared over the ocean. It was nearly noon, the sun lying high in the sky. The man’s eyes flicked back and forth across the two large pits now dug in his backyard beach, and eventually he sighed heavily. Koa waddled through the sand mounds, occasionally burying his head into the warmth and shaking it about.

Lillie smiled as she watched him, but her thoughts kept returning to the battle. The breaking anchor, Acerola’s desperation and anger. Somewhere in the back of her head, the tearing of the dhelmise’s mossy body nagged at her, and she silenced the voice.

_It was necessary to win._

“Any more lessons before I start my battle with Hau?” Lillie asked, rocking back and forth on her heels. Acerola and Hau were walking along the beach, out of earshot, the girl actively instructing her pupil about something. Hau waved his arms and laughed, mimicking an explosion.

“Every battle is different, and my own ability to instruct depends on your ability to understand,” Ilima replied. He drank deep from a large glass of water before setting it down on the patio table, moisture pooling quickly around it.

“My ability to understand...” Lillie thought about this. “Neither you nor Acerola seem too alarmed by the damage your pokemon took. You stated yourself that her dhelmise could have killed itself, and your snorlax’s face was nearly caved in by that attack.”

Ilima cocked an eyebrow at her. “Medical technology is impressive, if limited mostly to pokemon. The ability to suspend our them in stasis in their pokeballs gives us much greater lengths of time to seek medical help. The ability to also heal them in stasis means recovery is quick. Most professional trainers raise pokemon in such a manner that they resist pain well and fight even through horrible injuries.”

“I… I see.” Lillie shifted about, wringing her hands.

“Part of being a trainer is being okay with that,” Ilima continued. “Some regions are more mild. They adhere to strict rules. They limit the savagery in favor of the sport. But here in Alola there are few restrictions – even less should you encounter someone in the wilderness.”

“Is that why you hurt my pichu?” Lillie asked. Whether there was an accusation in the question or not, even Lillie wasn’t sure.

“That was genuinely an accident and I apologize for any anxiety the event caused you, though you have bounced back from that quite quickly.”

Lillie shifted the subject. “You guys also didn’t call out attacks except for Acerola’s change in tactics. I was under the impression most battles had call-outs.”

“In the tame regions, sure. They take turns, memorize fighting patterns, plan complex strategies, and minimize damage.” Ilima shrugged. “Chess with extra steps. There is a reason why trainers used to those rules do not come here, where their safety nets do not exist.”

“So you let the pokemon scrap blindly?”

“No.” Ilima shook his head. “Our pokemon respond to our every action, no matter how minimal. What is a blink to you is a command to my pokemon. What is a slight hand movement is an entire strategy. In the midst of battle, words are not always useful.”

“Acerola changed her strategy in the middle of the fight,” Lillie observed. “That’s why she called out an attack.”

“It was idiotic, but it worked.”

“Uhm...” Lillie pondered for another moment. “I’m not sure if I have anything else useful to say.”

“There is another important takeaway here,” Ilima started. Near the water Hau jumped up and Acerola laughed, a light tittering Lillie could make out from this distance, if only just. It sounded off somehow.

_Is it my imagination?_

“What’s that?”

“What you saw were two professionals battling, two that know each other’s pokemon and fighting style very well. Trainers who have clashed many times previously, and who have traded wins and losses many times over – her winning more often than me, but the point remains. In the wilderness, this is not the norm. Strangers, criminals, wild pokemon, they will act differently. They will fight differently.” A pause. “Do you know what the biggest weakness of any pokemon is?”

“What?”

“Their trainer.” Lillie cocked her head in confusion at first, until a cold realization worked itself through her. “No matter how strong your pokemon are, they cannot always be there to protect you. Play fair, play by the rules, and there will be those who exploit that. The quickest way to win a pokemon battle is...”

“...to take out the trainer.”

“Precisely.”

Lillie sat in one of the patio’s rocking chairs, leaning back into it as she stared at the rafters above her. In the distance she could hear Hau’s jovial cries.


	22. Part I: Lillie XII

Days after she had torn the battery out of her phone, Lillie’s curiosity got the better of her. She gingerly waited as it booted up, cradling it carefully as if it would spontaneously explode on her. A minimal design reminiscent of a pikachu popped up over a bright yellow background before fading to the standard phone menu. The device sat silently for just a moment.

Outside, Ilima was lecturing Hau and his popplio about something. Preparing him for his battle against Lillie, no doubt. Acerola lay on the living room couch, bare legs strung over the edge. Lillie continually stopped herself from repeatedly glancing over at the relaxing girl. She had kept mostly to herself since her victory over Ilima. Their argument from the night before was fresh in her mind. Lillie sighed, pushing the thought to the back of her mind.

A second later the phone vibrated heavily, then again and again and again. Text messages and missed phone calls, most of which from a number she recognized. Professor Kukui. Lillie opened one of the texts gingerly.

“I’m sorry, Professor,” Lillie muttered, leaning against the kitchen counter.

_Lillie, respond to me! Where are you?_

_I’m not mad at you. I’m just worried. Please respond._

_I’ve called the police. I need to know where you are._

_Lillie, if you get this, please call me._

An upwelling of emotion, but Lillie forced it down. Now was not the time to cry.

She swiped through the messaging app, surprised to see that not all of the texts were from Kukui. There were two other numbers as well, both she didn’t recognize. After a long hesitation, she pulled open one of the messages.

_This is the Hau`oli Police Department. If you receive this message…_

She closed that one, quickly opening the second one. Her breath caught.

 _Lillie, this is Wicke. I got your number from Professor Kukui. He said he’s been paying for your phone for a little while now and that you’ve been living with him. He also said that you’ve run away_ _from him, too_ _. If you get this message…_

Lillie quickly opened up the back of her phone and pulled out the battery. The phone shut off instantly and she tossed the three pieces – phone, battery and back panel – roughly onto the kitchen counter. Without realizing it, her breathing had turned sharp, her fists closed tight, her gaze fixated on the device.

_Just turning it on for a moment wouldn’t be enough for the police to find me. All they’d know is that my phone connected to a cell tower miles away from here._

She swallowed, hoping the reasoning justified her curiosity. She couldn’t help it, despite the fact that she’d taken the battery out of her phone days ago. Lillie felt her chest tighten, a knot forming in her stomach. Kukui was actively looking for her and he’d involved the police. If Wicke had heard about this, it was just further proof that Kukui betrayed her. Aether Foundation would be out in force to look for her.

_Or not. If they’ve contacted Kukui, then they would know Nebby is missing._

_Kukui…_ She could see his goofy smile, the way he was always joking around, the way Burnet would scold him for wandering around everywhere with no shirt on. Lillie personally never minded that. The adventures she’d gone on to help with his research, the long drives around the island, the many times they’d ridden into the city just to visit Burnet and grab some food...

 _I shouldn’t care about him anymore._ Lillie shook her head. _I shouldn’t…_

“Lillie?” The voice jarred her from her thoughts. She looked up to see Acerola, who had walked into the kitchen without Lillie even noticing. “Are you okay?”

“I, uh, I...” Lillie paused as Acerola picked up Lillie’s phone and back panel, gently piecing them back together. She left the battery out. “I checked my phone.”

“I don’t think that’s the smartest thing for a runaway to do.” Acerola’s voice was soft and calming, and Lillie could feel her heartrate beginning to slow. “If you want to use the internet or check something online, I could always let you use mine.”

Acerola stepped towards her, gently placing Lillie’s phone and battery in one of her hands. The girl stood very close to her. Lillie struggled to maintain eye contact, unable to respond.

“I’m sorry, Lillie.” Acerola breathed out heavily. “What you said last night… You’re absolutely right. I can’t dictate what you feel or the decisions you make. It’s not like I’m always making the right choices either.”

“Uhm, you, uh,” Lillie started. Acerola perked up. “In the battle with Ilima, you hurt your dhelmise. Ilima said it was pretty bad.”

Acerola narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, I did.”

“O-On TV and in games and stuff, people always talk like pokemon are your friends and that winning battles is about f-friendship.” Lillie found the words spilling out all at once. “But it’s like what I was saying last night. Ever since I’ve come here, I’ve realized… I’ve realized...”

“Realized what, Lillie?”

“That’s all wrong.”

The words were a release, and Lillie felt her shoulders slump as they left her. An idea long held but only just now realized. It was a relief but also a bind, but it had been since the beginning. Everything that had happened in the past month since she met Koa, in the past week she’d been with Ilima. Everything.

Ever since she saw Luna and Nebby slip beneath the water, the thought had been growing within her.

“I thought I was cynical when I ran from my mother,” Lillie coughed a laugh, “but it hasn’t gotten any better, you know?”

“Lillie...”

“And I thought… I thought you were kind.” Lillie shook her head. “But it’s not like you aren’t. It’s just that you… It’s what Ilima has been saying since I got here. Trainers do what they must.”

“Lillie, that was different. Ghost-types are resilient. My dhelmise–”

“Doesn’t feel pain, right?” Lillie actually did laugh at that. “It doesn’t feel pain, so putting it through that was okay?”

Acerola didn’t immediately respond, so Lillie continued.

“But what’s the worst about all this, about what I’ve been learning here,” Lillie felt her grip on her phone growing tighter and tighter, and the back panel warped and bent from the pressure, “is that I’m okay with it.”

“You–”

“I already ran away from home, Ace.” Without realizing it, Lillie had raised her voice, and the ghost-trainer raised a halfhearted hand to calm her, but stopped. “I thought I was running away from a _monster_. And I thought I found peace. I thought Professor Kukui could give me that, a home, a life. But then Luna died and Kukui, he… he sold me out. He _fucking_ sold me out.” Lillie was shaking now, the curse escaping her lips heavily, weighted down by how foreign it felt just to say. “And the pokemon I wind up using is a wild animal, one that nearly killed me. After all of that, I come here. I was lost. I was confused. I was afraid. And I come here and...”

“Lillie!” Acerola grabbed her shoulders.

“I come here and suddenly I’m okay.” Lillie loosed the grip on her phone and slipped it into the pocket of her hoodie. “I’m okay because it all makes sense. Ilima’s shown me that. You’ve shown me that. It’s not that they’re cruel. It’s not that my mother is evil, or that Kukui wanted to hurt me, or that Koa even knew what he was doing. It was just their best option, given what they knew, what their situation was. It was all rational decision-making, as Ilima puts it.”

“Stop...”

“It all comes back to the same thing.” Lillie’s voice dropped until just above a whisper. “Even that toucannon, the one that burned your hands. It was acting in self-defense. It was doing what it had to do to survive, but if it had hit one of us... If it had killed you, I would have hated it. Even though we antagonized it. Even though it was our own fault.

“Parenthood, friendship, companionship. A trainer’s bond with their pokemon. It’s all based on the same thing. It’s just like Ilima says. It’s all rational. My mother… as much as it hurt me, she was strong for being able to do what she had to. She did what she thought was necessary.”

“Stop it!” Acerola yelled, her hands gripped tight on Lillie’s shoulders, just deep enough to hurt. Lillie stared into her eyes for a long time before shrugging the girl off.

“I have to get ready for my battle,” Lillie said. Acerola opened her mouth but said nothing. Eventually she lowered her arms and Lillie turned about, walking away.

* * *

On the sandy beach, Lillie stood across from Hau. For the first time in months, she felt completely relaxed. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel the trepidation, uncertainty, fear. She didn’t know how she could beat a trainer, even one like Hau. She couldn’t possibly know how she’d beat Ilima later on. But yet…

“Koa,” Lillie called, her voice steady. There was no trace of her outburst at Acerola, no lingering resentment or concern. Nothing unnecessary.

There was a job to do.

The holes in the beach had been filled over the last few hours with the help of Acerola’s ghastly. The pokemon had telekinetically moved most of the sand, making for a quick job, though it did leave the backyard unnaturally smooth. The sand was bare of even the slightest imperfection.

Koa paced back and forth in front of her, eyeing Hau. He snorted, tossing his armored head.

Ilima and Acerola stood to the side – both a good distance apart, of course. Even after their battle earlier the two had barely spoken. Lillie knew that at any time Ilima would have been open to talk to her, to work some sort of solution out, but Acerola would refuse.

It was irrational.

“C’mon, Poppy!” Hau shouted, a wide, confident smile on his face.

_He’s won this fight before and he thinks he can win it again._

“On the count of three, the battle will begin,” Ilima called, his voice carrying above the surf. “It will be a one v. one fight, with the last pokemon left standing declared the winner.”

Lillie breathed out, her heartrate picking up.

_Breathe, Lillie. Breathe._

“Three.”

_Ilima wouldn’t be nervous._

“Two.”

_Mother wouldn’t be nervous._

“One.”

_I need to be like them._

“Start!”

Poppy sped towards them, mouth opening wide. The same tactic as their first battle. He was going to lead with a water gun, except this time Hau wasn’t calling out the attack beforehand. Mentally, Lillie worked herself through Ilima’s training, how he’d taught her to command her bagon.

_I need to control him._

“You’ve seen this before, Koa.” Lillie said to him, and the pokemon charged forward. Koa ran low, leading with his armored head.

At the last second, Poppy dashed to the side, attempting the get around Koa’s makeshift shield, and water erupted from the pokemon’s mouth. The torrential out-pour slammed into the spot Koa was at just a moment before.

“What?” Lillie heard Hau audibly gasp.

Koa ducked under the water gun, just barely in time. Poppy recoiled in surprise, closing its mouth and trying to back up to give itself space, but it was too slow. Koa’s armored head slammed into the seal pokemon’s jaw, knocking the pokemon up and back. The pokemon was lifted bodily into the air by the strike.

“Don’t let up!” Lillie shouted.

Koa opened its mouth and clamped down hard on Poppy’s back flipper. The thin limb buckled easily, an audible crunch reverberating out into the air. Acerola gasped and Hau shouted, desperately calling for Poppy to fight back.

“End it!” Lillie commanded, and Koa acquiesced.

The small dragon pokemon lifted its head up and back, dragging Poppy – squealing and crying, a pathetically shrill sound – up and over its head. Koa slammed the seal down onto the packed sand headfirst. Poppy stopped moving entirely.

Silence, except for the relentless pound of the surf.

Koa stood still, staring expectantly at Lillie. Poppy’s crushed and malformed back fin had compacted in his mouth, his razored teeth digging deep into dark blue skin. Blood ran easily down the pokemon’s chin, dripping onto the beach. Poppy dangled from Koa’s grip, motionless, more red seeping from a second wound in its head. Koa’s gaze was locked with her own, his head tilted up and back, his eyes wide and nostrils flared as the pokemon awaited her next command.

“Lillie and Koa are the winners,” Ilima declared simply, and the stillness broke.

Both Acerola and Hau dashed for the two pokemon. Lillie whistled and Koa turned about, the bloody limb still in his mouth, the movement of his head dragging the rest of the unconscious pokemon around. Poppy’s limp body dug a line in the sand that trailed with blood. After a moment, the bagon released Poppy and waddled over to Lillie, his maw and chest stained.

Hau dove for Poppy and Lillie watched the shocked trainer cradling his fallen pokemon. Poppy was rousing from its unconsciousness now, its faint voice whimpering painfully. Blood dripped from its crushed and twisted leg, pooling around the pokemon and seeping into Hau’s clothes. He stared down at Poppy’s broken body, his eyes wide. He didn’t say a word.

Lillie patted the top of Koa’s head, a grim satisfaction running through her.

“Easy.”

* * *

“I’ve decided to cancel the rest of our training for today.”

Lillie looked back over her shoulder. Ilima stood above her, staring at the ocean. The sun was setting now, explosive rays of yellow and gold running through the sky. There were few clouds to obscure the sight, the thin ones present shining in the dying light.

“It’s getting dark,” Lillie replied. “Probably best to wait until tomorrow.”

“That isn’t why.”

Ilima sat next to her, crossing his long legs in the sand. His shorts shone bright orange in the sunset light – an odd sight. Lillie returned her attention to Koa, who played in the waves further down the beach, dipping his head into the water and out of it.

The blood had washed off rather easily.

“Why cancel it?” Lillie asked. She rolled up the sleeves of her hoodie, pushing them back up above her elbow. They were always falling down. Maybe she should get a new one after all, one that didn’t previously belong to a six foot tall Alolan man. “I thought you were in favor of training as much as physically possible.”

“You ever meet the daughter of Lusamine, the President of Aether Foundation?”

Lillie froze.

“Why would I have?” Lillie responded, trying her best to sound nonchalant. Whether it worked or not was anyone’s guess.

“The police called earlier, asking if I’d seen a young blonde girl in the area. A runaway.” Lillie swallowed. “I asked them if they had any other information about her. They said she was a demure little thing, probably lost and confused and afraid.”

Lillie bristled.

“And what did you say to them?”

“I told them no, I hadn’t seen such a girl. I had no idea who they could possibly be talking about.” Lillie breathed a sigh of relief.

“So what are you gonna do?” Lillie said, her voice hesitant, a bitterness seeping in that she couldn’t hold back.

“Tomorrow you’re gonna battle me.” Ilima shrugged. “The circumstances of you undertaking the trial are not relevant to me personally. If you win, you can proceed. If you lose, well,” Ilima held up his hands, “back home to mommy, I suppose.”

He stood, brushing the sand from his cargo shorts. Lillie turned back to her pokemon. Koa was playing in the sand now, digging his head into small holes and covering it completely.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Ilima said. She looked up at him. “That injury your bagon inflicted on Poppy. It’s bad enough that he’ll have to take the pokemon back to Hau`oli Hospital, not unlike my snorlax. The trip will probably take most of the day tomorrow. The recovery process itself is likely to take another few days. Acerola has offered to escort him back, and–”

“Wait, but...” Lillie stood as well. “...but that means.”

“Hau is disqualified from my trial.”

Lillie stared at him, unable to speak. The words crashed into her, nearly knocking her over. She opened her mouth, trying in vain to say something, _anything_.

“It happens. Don’t worry about it too much.” Ilima shrugged. After a moment, he started walking away. “You’ve got your battle with me tomorrow to think about, after all.”

Lillie watched his back as Ilima walked to his house, the dying sunlight reflecting easily off his brightly colored clothes. She wrapped her hoodie around herself, suddenly feeling very, very cold.


	23. Part I: Lillie XIII

“If we left now, we’ll be able to make a late bus back.” Acerola slung the small knapsack over her shoulder, adjusting the strap to fit. Ilima’s expression was merely a hint of surprise, one that Lillie had to strain to notice.

Lillie sat on the couch, pretending to be looking into her hands. She watched the two older trainers as they tucked into the doorway to Lillie and Hau’s room – _just mine now, actually –_ speaking with somber tones.

“I could have a neighbor drive you,” Ilima offered, but Acerola shook her head.

“It’s okay,” and she smiled so easily at him, despite everything that happened. “Hey, give me your snorlax. I’ll take him with me to get treated so he doesn’t have to wait.”

Ilima nodded, reaching for his belt. He pressed against one of the Heavy Balls, releasing it from its latch. When he passed it to Acerola, their hands briefly touched. Acerola pressed the ball close to her heart.

“Thank you,” he said to her. “Really.”

Lillie examined the two of them, noting how close they stood in the doorway, hearing how their speech – at first clipped and short, now relaxed and easy – had changed as they talked, watching how Ilima leaned over her just a bit and how she looked up at him. Acerola’s back was pressed against the doorframe, but from this angle it almost looked like she was nestled under his arm.

“Don’t mention it.” Acerola playfully punched him in his arm, a light tap. “It was fun here, you know? I would have wanted to see Lillie up to the trial grounds, but Poppy comes first. I’ll, uh, I’ll...”

“I’m sorry, Ace.”

“Don’t be.”

Lillie gripped Koa’s ball, her knuckles turning white.

Ilima retreated back to the kitchen, leaning against the counter as Acerola dipped inside Lillie’s room. His yungoos zipped across the floor, circling Ilima’s feet and then wrapping its long body around one leg, its claws digging into the edge of his shorts. The man bent down, scratching his pokemon’s head, circling a finger around its ear. The pokemon closed its eyes, pressing its face into his palm.

“You got everything you need?” Acerola called from inside Hau’s room. Lillie could see past Acerola to Hau as the trainer rooted around the floor, looking for something.

“Almost.”

“Alright. I’ll wait out front.” Acerola dipped out and her eyes met with Lillie’s.

For a moment the two girls stared at each other as if neither knew what to do. But it was only a moment. Acerola smiled and walked towards her. Outside Lillie could hear the froakie calling their nighttime song, that two-note call repeated again and again and again. Acerola’s bandaged hands rubbed together as the older girl wrung her wrists.

Acerola stopped in front of her and Lillie stood.

“Good luck, Lillie,” Acerola said quietly. “I’m rooting for you.”

She leaned in close, pressing her lips against Lillie’s cheek.

A moment later she pulled away, eyes downcast, and turned towards the door. Lillie watched her back and moments later she was gone. A sudden urge to run after her, to apologize, to cry, to beg for forgiveness – for _what_ exactly, Lillie couldn’t even begin to say. Instead Lillie stood still, clenching her fists together, watching the wooden door as it slowly swung closed.

“Don’t worry too much,” Ilima said, walking over. His hands were in his pockets, his yungoos nipping at his heels, batting at him like it wanted to play. “You impressed her a lot – really, she wouldn’t shut up about you.”

“Yeah, well, I messed that up,” Lillie scoffed, her eyes affixed firmly on the wooden paneled floor. Irregular dark and light lines running alongside each other, every single one so close, yet never intermingling.

“The little lost girl,” Ilima chuckled, “Acerola is quite fond of that sort of thing. She’s attracted to fragility, to weakness. She wants to nurture it, to grow it, to help it. And in the process she loses what she initially liked so much about it. So she’ll move on to other lost causes, other hopeless situations, never looking back. But you… she got invested in you.”

“I was just a cheaper version of Ilima,” Lillie said miserably. “Honestly, I think she just missed you.”

“Maybe.” Ilima shrugged. “But you’ll see her again, and maybe you two will make up. Or maybe not.”

“I have to apologize to her,” Lillie said.

“No, not to Acerola.” Ilima reached out, his hand pressing against the top of Lillie’s head. He ruffled her hair slightly before pulling away. “I’ll wait in my room until you two are done.”

“Huh?” Lillie looked up at him, then across the room. Hau stood in the entrance to Lillie’s room. Ilima’s door squeezed shut, both her mentor and his yungoos gone. Lillie and Hau were alone.

“So uh,” Hau smiled at her, one hand rising up and pressing against the back of his head. He stepped towards Lillie slowly. “Guess I gotta go home!”

Lillie walked towards him, a knot in her stomach. She chickened out, turning towards the kitchen to keep some distance. She pressed the middle of her back against the kitchen counter, folding her arms. Even in her hoodie she felt cold.

“Yeah,” Lillie tried to smile at him, but couldn’t maintain it. “Say hi to Kahuna Hala for me. Or–” Lillie blushed, looking away, “–don’t, actually. I wouldn’t want him to know I’m here.”

“Don’t worry, sistah!” Hau was the braver of the two, and he closed the gap between them, smiling the whole way. “I won’t tell anyone you’re out here. Who’d have thought I’d meet the daughter of Lusamine herself?”

Lillie coughed a laugh. “Everybody here figured it out, huh?”

“Oh, I didn’t figure anything out!” Hau leaned against the counter next to her, a few inches away. “Ilima told me at the beginning of the week, and Acerola told me a few days ago. They both said to be quiet about it.”

“At the beginning of the week?!” Lillie unfolded her arms, shocked, watching Hau’s smiling face with no small sense of disbelief. “That soon?”

“But man, meeting a celebrity! Well,” Hau shrugged, “a celebrity’s daughter. Same thing. I’m a lucky guy.”

Lillie bit her lip. If she didn’t know any better, Hau would just be talking normally to her. The ease in which he relaxed, in which he smiled. Watching him only made the knot in her stomach twist tighter. She wanted him to yell at her, to be angry, and yet…

“I’m sorry,” Lillie finally said. “I… I should have called Koa off. I got… I was so caught up in the moment, I just- I was just thinking about winning and I–”

“Nah, stop it.”

Lillie paused. Hau had both his hands behind his head as he leaned back, staring up at the ceiling. His eyes were watery but there were no tears. The boy was smiling just like he always was.

“Hau...”

“I got proud and I got lazy,” Hau said simply. “I saw you that first day on the road and I thought you were weak. I thought it would have been an easy to take you. And then when Ilima made us battle the first time, I won so quick I didn’t even have to try. So I got lazy.

“All this week I thought I was the one who was gonna get up to that cave. I thought Poppy and I were invincible. I listened to Ilima and Acerola, I went on those hikes and I heard their wisdom and I just thought ‘Nah, I got this!’

“And it turned out I don’t got this.” Hau smirked. “A lazy trainer like me don’t got a right to take the trials. If I figured that out sooner, Poppy would have been fine. All this week while you were learning to control Koa and how to be a trainer, I’ve been goofing off like it’s been a vacation. It’s my fault she got hurt so bad.”

“Don’t… don’t sell yourself short,” Lillie said, quieter than she wanted. Hau looked at her. “I-I was scared to battle you. You had so much more experience than I did. You seemed so much more comfortable with Poppy than I am with Koa. I… I wanted to be like you.”

“Nah, don’t be like me.” Hau shook his head. “Be like Ilima or Acerola, but not me. I’m nothing special.”

“I’m sorry,” Lillie said. Hau shrugged.

“No worries, sistah,” he said.

She heard the restraint in his voice and said nothing.

* * *

 Lillie leaned against the wall, staring at the closed front door long after Hau and Acerola had departed. The knot in her stomach was far from gone, but it had lessened somewhat. She could still feel Acerola’s lips against her cheek.

Hau had kept up his cheery demeanor all the way out the door, and even as he and Acerola started walking down the dirt road back across Route Two, she could hear him loudly talking to Acerola, his voice as excitable as ever. The sun had long since set and the two had a good distance to go.

“Sad?”

“Ahh!” Lillie jumped, spinning about, her heart about to burst in her chest. She breathed heavily, looking up at Ilima as he stood near the kitchen, bare feet against tile, having changed into a loose t-shirt and shorts. “You scared me!”

“Normally it’s Ace’s job to do that.” Ilima smirked. He opened the fridge, casually rooting about and eventually settling on a water bottle. “But she’s gone now so I have to do what she can’t.”

“Well, at least you aren’t taking me deep into the forest to fight a toucannon,” Lillie complained, dragging her feet as she walked back to the high kitchen counter. She slid onto one of the bar stools, lazily leaning her head on one arm.

“I can arrange that.” Ilima stopped suddenly, his face deadly serious.

“No, no, no, please, it’s fine,” Lillie said quickly. Ilima smirked at her.

“Want me to cook you something?” Ilima opened the fridge again. “It’s still barely early enough for a light dinner.”

“I’m fine, thanks.”

Her mentor pulled a couple items out of the fridge, setting them on the counter. He pulled some pasta from above the fridge and a couple pots and pans from one of the cupboards. His yungoos scurried about underfoot, hopeful for a bite to eat. Lillie smiled at the mongoose pokemon.

“I’m making you some anyway.” Ilima turned back to her. Lillie shrugged.

“Do what you want.”

They were quiet, both of them in a house that, to Lillie, suddenly loomed much larger. Two people opened the building up much more than four. Lillie listened to the pokemon outside, to the wind whistling around the walls, to the constant whisper of the shoreline across the sandy backyard.

She zipped up the front of her hoodie, snuggling in close to it, burying her nose in one sleeve. If she tried really, really hard, she could almost smell Professor Kukui on his old jacket. Wind wrapped over her bare legs, raising goosebumps on the exposed skin. Short shorts, something she would never have dreamed of wearing when living with her mother, now a casual part of her outfit.

“She left her clothes for you, you know,” Ilima said, pouring now-boiling water and pasta through a colander in the sink. “Said she liked how you looked in them. Especially that halter-top.”

Lillie blushed, thinking of the exposed back on the shirt. Acerola had been so insistent about Lillie wearing it two days ago, but she hadn’t touched it since. It _was_ a nice shirt, but with the amount of skin that it showed...

“I’m surprised you know what a halter-top is.” Lillie smirked.

“I don’t,” Ilima turned back to her, “I’m simply repeating what she said to me.”

“Ah.”

Ilima ran just a bit of cold water over the boiled pasta before sliding in back into the pot. He popped open a jar of sauce, pouring all of it in. Lillie felt her stomach growl and silently hoped Ilima hadn’t heard it.

“Acerola, she...” Ilima started, but stopped. Lillie lifted her head expectantly. “She really was fond of you.”

“You mentioned that.” Lillie smiled. “Hey, Ilima, what was it like?”

“What was what like?”

“Being in love with Ace.”

He thought about that.

“Stressful,” Ilima replied eventually. Lillie stifled a laugh. “She was always on the move, always pushing herself to do more, to see more, to experience more. And I felt like I was sprinting at full speed yet slowly falling behind.”

“Did you care when you lost to her today?”

“Somewhat.” Ilima added the steamed vegetables and stirred in some cheese. “I had provoked her intentionally. I made her mad, and yet I couldn’t follow through on my own challenge. Even after all this time, she’s still so much better than I am.”

Lillie nodded, biting her lip and gazing at the far wall.

“I’m such an idiot,” Lillie said to herself, her voice soft and low.

“What’s that?” Ilima looked up while portioning their food, making two bowls and a shallow dish for his yungoos.

“Nothing.”

Ilima set a bowl down in front of her and slid onto the bar stool next to her. She looked up at him and he smiled.

“Hau will be back, Lillie,” Ilima assured her, “trust me on that. I’ve been doing this long enough to know plenty of kids like him, and they always come back.”

Lillie nodded.

It wasn’t long after that they washed their dishes and said goodnight. Ilima turned off the kitchen light and closed his door quietly, his yungoos just barely running inside his room in time. Lillie stood in her doorway for a long while, looking out over the place that had been her home this last week.

She closed her door, sat down on her bed, and started to cry.

* * *

 The morning began slowly. Lillie woke to the song of birds and rolled over, staring at the empty space in Hau’s old bed. She sat up quickly, ignoring the fatigue weighing down her limbs. The night hadn’t been easy on her, and she woke every few hours – either she was startled awake by a vague vision in her dreams, or by a mysterious noise outside, or simply rousing for no real reason.

“Just what I need,” Lillie grumbled to herself. She stood, brushing down the long t-shirt she was wearing. It was Ilima’s, the one he gave her on her first day. Acerola had mixed it in with the clothes she gave her.

Her feet softly padding along the wood, she opened the door and stepped out into the living room. Ilima hadn’t woken up yet, his door looming quiet and dark across the living room from her. Outside the sky was covered in low clouds. The sea lay gently in the distance, dull blue sitting under dull gray.

Lillie showered. She stood under the stream of hot water and closed her eyes, wanting nothing more than to drift off there. Nausea gripped her stomach, a light displeasure that nagged at her continuously. When she stepped out of the bathroom, long white towel wrapped tight about herself, Ilima was still asleep, his door shut tight.

“So he’s not actually a morning person, huh?” Lillie snickered, closing her door to get dressed. She left her hoodie on the bed, instead wearing a simple gray t-shirt and shorts.

An hour later, she was dangling her feet over the side of the couch, one hand outstretched and rubbing Koa’s head, when Ilima’s door finally swung open. She craned her neck up over the armrest and watched as he emerged from his room.

Red-eyed, fatigued, scowling, Ilima shuffled across the floor towards the bathroom, his yungoos chasing his heels.

“Mornin’, Princess!” Lillie called, her sing-song voice echoing through the empty house.

Ilima scowled at her.

“We’ll start after I get ready,” he growled.

* * *

 “Are you nervous?” Ilima asked, turning back to her. They were both out on the sand now. The wind picked up, whipping over them and tossing Lillie’s hair about. In frustration, she tied her hair back in a ponytail, but small strands still floated about her face. With the low clouds hanging overhead, the sand had taken on a dull gray sheen.

Koa stood at her side, staring at Ilima’s yungoos.

“Of course I am.”

“This battle will determine whether you are worthy to face the Trial,” Ilima stated. “If you fail here, I will not let you pass. To let you venture into the Verdant Cavern unprepared is a death sentence. I’ve trained you as much as I can. Now you must prove yourself.”

Lillie gripped her fists tight.

“This will be a two-v.-two fight,” Ilima stated, and Lillie raised an eyebrow. “Since you only have one usable pokemon, your bagon, I hope for your sake that he can beat more than one pokemon in a row. You’re welcome to use Hana if you think he could help.”

“You’re just making this more impossible.” _There’s no way my pichu is ready for a real fight yet._

Ilima shrugged. “I know what the trial demands. If you cannot rise to it, I cannot take you to the Verdant Cavern. Yungoos!”

He walked away, positioning himself about twenty feet away. His yungoos snaked its way around his feet before stopping in front of him. It stood on its back paws, its head sniffing the air.

“Koa!” The bagon stepped forward, opening his mouth wide. He let out a long, guttural growl, strained clicking noises mingling with a low-pitched vibration. Goosebumps raised along Lillie’s arm as she listened to the foreign cry. It continued for a long while before settling down, and Koa dug his back foot into the sand.

“Look at that,” Ilima said, his face wide with shock. “It _can_ vocalize. The pokemon had been silent all week, so I thought something was wrong with it.”

“What do you mean?” Lillie asked. Koa snorted, tossing his head, and the yungoos backed down onto all four legs, arcing its back.

“Bagon are social, unlike their later evolved forms. They form packs out of their brothers and sisters and ‘speak’ through clicking their tongues. This is especially evident when they’re distressed.” Ilima folded his arms. “Until this exact moment, however, I haven’t heard Koa mutter a single sound. I’d assumed his vocal chords were damaged. Judging from the sound of that cry, they very well could be.”

“Koa...”

“In any case, let’s begin.” Ilima pointed. “Yungoos.”

The pokemon charged.

“Wait, Koa,” Lillie commanded. The pokemon opened his wide mouth again, planting his feet and ducking low. He stood still, just a few feet away from Lillie. “Let him come to you.”

The yungoos darted in, paws indenting into the sand as it closed the gap. Koa’s stubby arms were out to the side. The mongoose pokemon slid in quickly, ducking under Koa’s reach and whipping its tail up. Koa took the hit squarely in the jaw. His mouth darted out to try and catch the pokemon’s tail as it whipped past. He missed and the yungoos backed away, slinking around in a quarter circle.

Koa held his ground, waiting for the yungoos to act. It snaked in again, going for the same maneuver. Koa paused, his arms outstretched to catch the blow. As its tail sailed in, the yungoos turned its body about, snapping its tail under Koa’s arm and slamming into his side. Koa grunted, pushed back a few inches. Ilima’s yungoos backed away again, patrolling in the same quarter circle.

The bagon opened his mouth again, the loud, straining, clicking sound emanating outwards. Lillie bristled at the noise as it grated against her ears.

“Be patient, Koa.” The pokemon closed his mouth, staring at Ilima’s yungoos. “Watch him.”

The yungoos charged in again, once again leading his attack the same way. Koa opened his mouth wide, waiting. The yungoos’s tail arced around as the pokemon spun and Koa reached for it. At the last moment, it changed direction again, the yungoos snapping its tail back and lunging.

This time, however, Koa was ready.

His head snapped about, one arm socking the yungoos solidly in its face. The pokemon recoiled, but not quick enough. Koa bit into the yungoos’s tail and the pokemon squealed, a high pitched call. Koa kept his momentum up, spinning his entire body and dragging the mongoose pokemon with it.

Up and over his shoulder, just as he had with Poppy.

The yungoos dug its claws into Koa’s back, its teeth sinking deep into its captor’s shoulders. Koa grunted and shook, unable to force the pokemon off him. Koa clamped down harder on the yungoos’s tail and it squealed in pain.

Koa spun about, struggling to pull his opponent off. Blood drops sprayed onto the sand.

“Koa!” The pokemon looked up at her and Lillie pointed to the wooden patio, at the wooden beams stretching out from the sand. Koa charged for them, head down low.

Even in the sand, the pokemon picked up speed quickly. His feet pounded into the ground as he ran, his teeth still deep into the yungoos’s tail. The writhing pokemon scratched and scratched, biting hard into Koa’s shoulder.

The same long, pained growl from Koa, but he didn’t stop running.

Moments before impact, the bagon jumped, spinning about inches off the ground. His back turned to the wooden beam and the yungoos scrambled to escape the dragon’s grip. The two pokemon slammed into the wood heavily and a snap filled the air. Lillie watched as the wood buckled. The yungoos cried out and fell silent. For a moment, the bagon sat waiting, but then slowly he released the mongoose pokemon from his mouth. The yungoos slumped to the ground, unconscious.

“Well done,” Ilima said, holding an Ultra Ball up. Red haze arced from the ball, encapsulating the fallen yungoos. It disappeared into the mist and Koa turned to face Ilima. Lillie glanced over her bagon. He bore several scratches on his back that had closed quickly, but the bite mark on his shoulder still bled.

“So what’s your next pick?” Lillie asked, Koa walking alongside her as she moved back into position.

“I always use the same two for these battles,” Ilima stated, drawing a ball from his belt. He flicked his wrist. “Go.”

The shape that appeared from the ball wasn’t a tall one, but it was bigger than Koa was. Standing at the height of a child, the smeargle stepped out onto the sand. Its long tail swished around, the tip colored green. One hand reached out, grabbing the tail and pushing it in front of itself.

“A smeargle?” Lillie struggled to remember what she knew about the pokemon. “It could know how to do anything.”

“Correct,” Ilima stated. “Perfect for a test of strength. You have no idea what it’s capable of, so every movement is a surprise. And you must adapt.”

Lillie swallowed.

“No turning back now. Koa!” The pokemon reacted to her call, opening its mouth. The same long, grating growl. The intermittent clicking. Sparks flew from within Koa’s outstretched mouth, crackling into the air. A foul stench curled against Lillie’s nose as she watched her pokemon. He struggled forward another step, before closing his mouth, coughing heavily.

“I see.” Ilima nodded. “We will need to finish this quickly. Smeargle!”

“Koa! Hang back!”

Koa tossed his head, raising it into the sky, his mouth opening wide again. It closed it quickly and for just a moment the two pokemon stared at each other from across the makeshift arena. A second later, the bagon charged.

“What? Koa!” Lillie called. “I said hang back!”

“You should stand back, Lillie,” Ilima replied to her.

The smeargle leapt forward, its painted tail motioning through the air, drawing a circle in nothing. Water burst forth, pushing into Koa. The dragon pokemon lowered his head, powering through the spray, the stream splitting over his rocky head.

“Hold nothing back,” Ilima commanded. Another movement of the tail. Vines sprouted from the sand, wrapping around Koa’s legs. The bagon struggled against them but he was stuck fast. The smeargle stalked closer slowly, slowly, each foot padding across the sand lightly as if it was gliding.

“Koa!”

The smeargle drew another shape in the air and the sand around Koa’s entrapped feet began to sink in a wide circle. Ilima’s pokemon walked about the edge, easily out of reach of Lillie’s trapped pokemon. The chirping sound filled the air as Koa thrashed about, stuck fast.

Koa opened his mouth, his growling now nearly defeaning. Lillie gripped her ears but the sound pushed through. Across the arena she could see Ilima pressing his hands to his ears as well, struggling to keep standing. Sparks flew from Koa’s mouth, building and building as he sunk down into the earth.

Ilima was shouting something now, but his smeargle was immobilized, fixated on the sinking dragon pokemon. It stared down at Koa, eyes wide.

A moment later, light burst from Koa’s outstretched mouth, a beam that slammed into the smeargle’s chest. It staggered backwards, keeping its footing for just one instant before being consumed. Lillie averted her eyes, the light too bright to keep watching.

What seemed like a lifetime later, the light faded, leaving Koa standing in the center of the pit, the vines released from his legs. Ilima’s smeargle lay in the sand, twitching and spasming, but with no other apparent damage on his body.

“What…?” Lillie walked forward. Koa looked up at her, his eyes bright and wide. Ilima approached them both, returning his smeargle to its ball.

“Dragon Breath,” Ilima stated. “A paralyzing beam of light, generally learned only by dragon pokemon. Bagons tend to learn it young, but...”

“But?” Lillie watched her pokemon in confusion.

“Generally it’s only the pack leaders that learn the attack,” Ilima stated. “The firstborn, the one most likely to survive the vicious competition of their childhood. Yet Koa was a runt.”

Koa climbed out of the sand pit he’d been forced into and walked towards the patio of Ilima’s house. He plopped himself down at the edge, staring at them both, his eyes half-open in a tired haze.

“A runt...”

“Regardless...” Ilima smiled at her. “Congratulations! You’ve earned the right to take my trial.”

Lillie gazed down into the sand pit and then back at her pokemon. He relaxed on Ilima’s patio, head leaning back against wood. The bleeding in his shoulder stopped during the fight and the pokemon’s eyes were flitting closed, his mouth just barely open.

“Yeah...” Lillie replied, barely audible. “Congratulations to me.”

As Lillie watched her pokemon drift off to sleep, the knot in her stomach only grew tighter.


	24. Part I: Gladion VIII

****“Eyes sharp,” Kaipo called. “We’re within a two mile radius of the target now.”

They’d been at this since yesterday morning. After a day of hiking at a forced-march pace and two nights of wasteful tossing and turning, Gladion was bone-tired. Faba had been sleeping like an infant, but tended to sprawl over the entirety of the tent, leaving Gladion with very little room. Crammed against the edge of the tent, the poking of rocks digging into his side, the constant barrage of froakie calls filling the air, it was unsurprising Gladion’s eyes refused to close. What little sleep he did manage to accomplish was usually swiftly ended by Faba’s turning about or loud, unknown pokemon calls from the night.

Gladion worked his way over rough and uneven ground punctuated by numerous mossy rocks. All around him was a haze of small, scraggly trees, their ridged bark grabbing at his clothes as he passed. Ferns brushed against him, their leaves wet and coarse. The forest filled with birdsong – there were many species that he could hear. A fletchling here, a pikipek there, occasionally a spearow. Very rarely the deep roar of a toucannon would echo over them.

The calls of the toucannon would make Kaipo pause and listen, then redirect them away from the sound. They were territorial birds – probably one of the most dangerous pokemon in the islands – though they kept to deep forests and disliked confronting humans.

As if the birds weren’t bad enough, there were the bugs. Gladion was constantly brushing his way through old spinarak webs. Bug and grass pokemon were common this far into the forest and Gladion cautiously looked about himself for any caterpie or morelull. They were common, but lurked far enough away so as to not warrant worry.

Yuri had long ago left to scout ahead. Kaipo spoke to him quietly before the small, blonde man vanished. Faba bitched and complained constantly, kicking rocks, cursing at trees, stumbling over things. Gladion tried to keep quiet as much as possible, following closely behind Kaipo as he considered his situation.

If it came down to a fight, Kaipo and Yuri would be the biggest problems. Kaipo’s mightyena was outfitted with military grade claws, jaws and armor. If the pokemon bit, it would kill very easily. And without being able to talk to Luna there was no way he could tell her how to help. Summoning that monster – whatever it was – could take care of the entire problem, but Kaipo was already accounting for that.

“You’re going to be going in first, Gladion,” Kaipo had told him, brushing back a long fern frond. “She’s likely not going to react negatively immediately if you’re the first face she sees. You’re going to get close to her.”

“If she attacks –” Gladion protested, but Kaipo cut him off.

“She won’t. I was watching the entire exchange last time she pulled that monster out on us. You were the only one unaffected, at least at first.” Kaipo stepped up and over a big rock easily. Gladion scrambled after him. Faba muttered as he struggled after them both. “When she stopped being able to control it and the creature attacked you, she was distraught. Screaming, shouting. I blacked out before I saw her get you free, but I saw enough.”

“Enough of what?”

“The limits of her control,” Kaipo said. “Whatever the thing is – psychic pokemon or ghost pokemon or whatever – it only responded to her distress. We prevent her from becoming distressed and then we neutralize her. That’s how we do it.”

“You’re making a lot of assumptions,” Faba snarked. Gladion ignored him.

“And if she does get worked up?”

“That’s where Yuri comes in.” Kaipo shrugged. “He’s left to set up a vantage point, something with range so he can shoot her if necessary. You’re specifically not allowed to know where it is because I don’t want you pointing it out to the girl.”

Gladion grit his teeth. _Of course._

“You’ll be wearing one of these,” Kaipo tapped an earpiece in his ear, “and a microphone as well, so you don’t fuck up the plan. You disobey me here, Gladion,” Kaipo sighed, “or fuck the plan up, or if you cause trouble in any way, then she’s getting a bullet in the head.”

“If you can hit her.”

“Solid point.” Kaipo stopped, staring back at Gladion for a long while. “There’s a chance the pokemon can defend her. But Yuri has orders that if he can’t kill the girl, then he’s going to kill you.”

“Fuck you, sir,” Gladion spat.

“It’s just part of the job.”

The two were silent for a long while before Kaipo finally turned back to Gladion, his expression serious. The forest seemed to quiet itself as the big Alolan man stared at Gladion, his one hand holding his mightyena’s pokeball, his other hand gripping the tracker.

“It’s a simple job, Gladion,” Kaipo said, his voice calm and low. “You walk in and distract the girl. I immobilize her. We go home. Nobody has to get hurt. Nobody has any problems. Just do what I say.”

Gladion didn’t respond.

* * *

“Faba.” Gladion leaned against the tree, staring down into the flowing water. Kaipo stood on the opposite end of the small stream, watching the tracker like he always did. Faba sat cross-legged by the water, turning his head up at the sound of his name.

“What, boy?”

Gladion grit his teeth at the indignation in Faba’s tone but pushed his irritation down.

“What is Luna? Why does my mother want her?”

Faba didn’t respond for a long moment, instead looking away into the forest. The birdsong was quieter here, much to Gladion’s relief. In a few minutes the three of them would be off again, back to the chase.

“You would know if you had stayed,” Faba finally responded. “Our research into developing the lures for the Ultra Beasts would have progressed faster. It’s possible we wouldn’t have even needed Luna by this point.”

“Excuse me for running, then.”

“It was a genuinely stupid idea.” The tone in Faba’s voice gave the statement an unexpected weight. Gladion bit back an angry response, waiting for the scientist to finish his thought. “After you ran away, our only genetic connection to Dr. Mohn was Lillie, and a little girl can only handle so much testing. Even Lusamine realized that. We had to give up using Lillie entirely after a couple more attempts. She simply would not cooperate.”

“Sucks for you.”

“But then we discovered what the cosmog could do.” The odd inflection in Faba’s voice continued, and Gladion had a hard time placing the emotion in it. “Previously we were luring Ultra Beasts into our reality using you and your sister – they were attracted to Dr. Mohn’s genotype, for god knows what reason. But with cosmog we could open a portal directly. However, we never succeeded in a stable configuration before...”

“Before?”

“Before Lillie fled with our last sample.” Faba sighed, a long and heavy sound that faded into the trickling of the stream water. “The pokemon is capable of limited teleportation – likely connected to its nascent ability to create wormholes. She used it to get off of Aether Paradise. How she managed to get the pokemon to obey her commands is beyond me.”

“What exactly are they?” Kaipo jumped over the stream, his gruff voice straining with the effort. “These ‘Ultra Beasts’.”

Faba tilted his head back and laughed. He gazed up at Kaipo, his green glasses falling down the bridge of his nose. “Beats me.”

“You don’t even know what they are and you’re trying to drag them into Alola?” Gladion’s voice rose.

“Oh, don’t worry, we aren’t unprepared,” Faba stated simply, stifling his laughter. “And should we succeed in capturing one... imagine, an extra-dimensional pokemon, Gladion!” The scientist stood, a wide smile on his face. “Proof that other dimensions exist! Proof that we might one day be able to travel there! What kind of world might exist on the other side? Is it just like ours? Is it radically different? There’s so much to learn!”

Gladion remembered the dark hand stretching down towards Lillie, flesh dripping from its body. He remembered the face with no eyes, the empty mouth open in a silent scream. The creature that had surrounded Luna had seemed similar, yet not. If there was an entire world of those _things_ out there...

“Sounds like they should be left well enough alone.” Gladion scowled as he spoke. Faba simply shrugged his shoulders in response.

“An immature stance,” Faba replied. “That’s why we don’t leave children in charge. Without curiosity, without danger, there can be no advancement.”

“You–” Gladion stepped forward, a surge of anger running through him.

“That’s enough of that,” Kaipo interjected. “It’s time to get moving.”

* * *

“She missed you, you know.”

Gladion looked back at Faba. The old man wheezed and panted as he hiked up the small hill, the numerous small rocks making it difficult to find a footing. Gladion extended an arm and the scientist took it, letting Gladion help pull him up and over the top of the rise.

“What are you on about?” Gladion muttered. A few feet below him, Kaipo was examining the valley, binoculars pressed against his eyes. Faba leaned against a tree, breathing heavily.

“Your darling little sister,” Faba managed. “After you left, she… she asked after you a lot. At least for the first year.”

Gladion didn’t answer immediately.

“Eventually she realized we’d give her no answers.” Faba straightened himself and stretched backwards, his arms extending into the air. “We knew where you were – Guzma kept close tabs on you at Lusamine’s request – but there was no point expending resources to collect you.”

“You were just saying earlier that you needed me,” Gladion retorted.

“Lillie was good enough,” Faba stated. “And when her usefulness ran out, we had already discovered the cosmog’s latent abilities. There was never a reason for us to force you back.”

Gladion scoffed. “You talk about this like it’s obvious. Like we were stupid to leave.”

“You were.” Faba scowled. “You and Lillie were Lusamine’s only link to this world, you know. Since you two left her, she has… become disinterested. She exists to secure the Ultra Beasts, and she will stop at nothing to accomplish that.”

“Who cares about her?” Gladion snapped. “Lusamine can rot on her _paradise_ for all I care. She wasn’t a mother to me! She can find her Ultra Beasts on her own.”

“She was as much a mother to you as you were a brother to Lillie.”

Gladion stared back at the scientist, a cold fury running through him. He grit his fists, resisting the desire growing within him. He wanted to lash out, to beat the old man down for saying such a thing, but yet…

“You’re right,” Gladion spat back at him. “I abandoned her. I told myself I’d be back, that I’d save her, but I did nothing.”

“There’s nothing a boy like you could do anyway,” Faba waved one hand. “Aether Foundation is the largest corporation in Alola. We own the ferries. We own the cities. We even own the criminals. The politicians beg and scrape for us to fund their elections, and Unova is disinterested in limiting our influence here.”

“You say a lot of that,” Kaipo called back from further down the hill. “But that’s not the Unova I know. One of these days they’ll come down on you. All they need is a reason.”

“Nonsense,” Faba retorted. Kaipo shrugged, turning back to his binoculars.

“It’s not like...” An odd expression fell over Faba’s face. “It’s not like the rest of us didn’t care, Gladion.” Gladion narrowed his eyes. “We know that what Lusamine is doing is wrong. Tormenting her kids? Buying children off the black market? Killing rare pokemon just for a chance of opening the portal?”

“And you still do it.”

“We do it because we must,” Faba insisted, his face a mess of conflicting emotions. “We do it because nobody else will. These Ultra Wormholes open randomly anyway – there’s evidence of them appearing all over the planet – and yet we’re the only ones who take it seriously, who _understand_ the danger those creatures hold. If we can learn something useful...”

“Then it justifies what you’ve done?” Gladion fought the anger back as he spoke.

“Yes.”

“The ends don’t justify the means.”

“Says the boy who works for a criminal.”

“I see her,” Kaipo called, and the two fell silent. “Let’s go.”

* * *

“Luna.” Gladion gasped the name, looking down into the small clearing. Kaipo was positioned further up the valley, atop a rock face, while Faba had circled around to the opposite side of the clearing. Gladion could see the thin man ducking through the underbrush, being very careful to keep quiet. Gladion looked through the trees at the girl.

She sat on a small rock, gazing out over a rainwater pond that had gathered under a small overhang. She watched the movement of the water, or maybe that of small fish darting below the reflection of the forest around her. Luna wore the same white pants and black tank top that she did when she fled, but now they were covered in dirt and grass. Stains of brown and green dirtied the white. Her long black hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, her feet bare as she ran her toes through the water. The Team Skull beret was nowhere to be seen.

He stepped towards her and stopped. A very light blue pokemon brushed against Luna’s leg, jumping up into her lap. The girl giggled, petting the soft, pale fur of the pokemon lightly, the fluff of its long tail swishing back and forth pleasantly.

_A vulpix?_

The ice pokemon curled up in her lap and Luna stroked its back. Gladion found himself unable to move forward, to confront her. He had a plan to follow, and yet…

“Get in there, Gladion.” Kaipo’s voice fizzed in his ear. “Don’t delay.”

Gladion walked out into the clearing, moving slowly towards the young girl. She played with the fur on the vulpix’s head, laughing at the little fox pokemon as it yipped at her. Yuri was further up the mountain somewhere, likely with a rifle trained on them both. Gladion felt his fists clench with the thought. There had to be a way to help her. To stop this. He opened his mouth to speak.

“Luna.” Gladion heard the trepidation in his own voice as the girl turned to him. “Hey.”

She stood quickly, the vulpix jumping onto the ground. Her mouth hung open for a long while. She smiled briefly, obvious relief on her face, before some realization went through her. She shook her head, smile falling and expression darkening. Luna stared at him with suspicion, her eyes narrow and her body tense. Gladion took another step forward.

“Stay back!” she shouted, her teeth grit, staring directly at Gladion. He paused. Behind her, Gladion could see the shadow of Kaipo in the woods as he moved into position. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Luna, it’s me.” Gladion extended his arms to her. She was maybe fifteen feet away now.

“It’s going to hurt you again.” Luna backed away, tears coming to her eyes. “Go away!”

The vulpix was growling at Gladion, its small fangs bared as ferociously as the small fox could manage. Luna kept backing away and Gladion kept approaching. The girl stumbled backwards over a rock, catching herself quickly and not once breaking eye contact with him. The shadows around her were bending and Gladion felt himself go cold.

“Luna, please–”

Behind her, there was a light clicking sound. A dart sprouting from nowhere, appearing in Luna’s neck. The girl stumbled, one hand immediately racing to the impact site. She pulled the dart out, staring at it incredulously before falling to one knee. She glared at Gladion for a long moment before turning her head up the mountain slope, eyes narrow and movements suddenly made lazy from the tranquilizer.

“Now keep her calm until she falls unconscious.” More instructions through his earpiece. “It will take longer than TV would make you think. If she fights it, she’ll wind up in a delirious rage instead of the quiet sleep we need from her.”

“Luna!” Gladion ran to her. The vulpix bit at him and another dart sailed down, digging itself into the small fox pokemon’s neck. Luna was on both knees now, looking up at Gladion with a listless and confused expression. Her arms were out to the side, tears in her eyes.

Gladion knelt down next to her, wrapping the girl up in a hug to relax her. The girl clenched his arm, staring up at the sky as the tranquilizer continued to work. Her eyes struggled to keep focus. He held her close, the girl’s slender body pressing close against him.

“I…” she struggled to speak and Gladion shushed her.

“Relax, Luna.” _Is this really all I can do?_ “Please, just relax.” _Hold her and let her be captured?_

“No, no, no,” Luna squirmed in his grip. Her mouth hung open, her eyes staring straight up. “No, no, no…”

She repeated herself and the shadows grew darker.

“I see all of you,” Luna said, raising one weak finger up the mountain to where Kaipo lay in wait. She turned her head to Faba, who crouched in the forest, obscured by the trees. Gladion felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing.

“Gladion, whatever you’re doing isn’t working!”

Raw energy cracked through the air as Luna reached one hand into a red sky. She mouthed words he couldn’t hear. Gladion felt the world shift around him. The vulpix collapsed next to him, finally succumbing into unconsciousness, defeated, and Luna bared her teeth.

“Gladion!” Kaipo’s voice was panicked now. “Gladion, calm her down now!”

He stared at the girl, unable to speak – not because he didn’t want to.

But because he couldn’t.

Off to the side he saw Kaipo charging in, shouting, but for some reason the man blinked away, gone. A black shade rose from the ground, fleshy claws dragging itself out of the earth, its dark, ever-changing body standing in sharp contrast to the nature around them. Dead eyes stared at their surroundings. Gladion found himself fixated.

He’d been fixated for years.

He’d seen those eyes long, long ago.

“Gladion!” It was Faba now, shouting in his ear, but the man seemed so far away.

The forest around him was fading away and the only thing he could see was the unconscious girl in his arms. Pale skin and midnight hair, listless eyes staring into nothing. The shadows stretched farther and farther back. Kaipo was gone. Faba’s voice fizzled into static.

The void stared back at him.

A gunshot from far, far away.

Bells ringing.

But that was just a dream long since lost.


	25. Part I: Lillie XIV

****The following morning, the two set out from Ilima’s house. Ilima forged ahead of her, leading her up and into the mountain. It was a gentle slope, but a continuous one. Through fields of yellow pampas grass and then into the dark shadow of thick forest. Up and up and up.

After beating Ilima in battle, her mentor had fallen silent for a long time. Lillie had returned her bagon to the ball and was relaxing inside the house when Ilima finally came to her, expression stern.

“Are you sure that this is what you want to do?” he asked.

“I… I need to get off the island and you have a boat,” Lillie replied, trying hard to keep her voice level. “Only way you’ll take me is if I complete the trial, r-right?”

Ilima nodded. “You could go home. Face your mother. The trial is dangerous, and taking it unnecessarily–”

“I defeated you,” Lillie said, trying to sound confident. “So I should be able to handle it.” _Right?_

Ilima hadn’t responded then, rather turning and walking away. She thought he had an odd expression on his face, one that she couldn’t quite place. She didn’t press him about it.

A fierce chirping snapped Lillie from her memories. She looked up and around herself, at the pikipek flitting among the branches above her. Emerald leaves blanketed the sky, slivers of light poking through. The ground was soft and bare of grass, but filled with ferns and other small plants. Ilima kept ahead of her as he had the entire trip thus far.

Silent, always staring ahead.

Lillie followed. She tugged at her t-shirt and batted at the mosquitoes that were just now coming out in force, wishing she’d worn something with long sleeves. Ferns scratched against her legs. The forest around her was alive, even if she couldn’t see the source of all the commotion. Whether it was the birds in the trees or the rush of pichu or yungoos scampering away from them, there was always movement around her. She kept one hand on Koa’s pokeball just in case.

Two hours passed. The two remained quiet as they hiked up the mountain. When they finally stopped, Ilima held one arm out to his side and spoke for the first time that trip.

“We’re here.”

Lillie looked around them. A clearing nestled against a cliff face, one that stretched far above her. Thin, numerous trees packed tight around the clearing, pressing against the cliff in a rough semicircle. Ilima walked out towards the center, his shoes softly crunching against the sparse grass.

“This place?” Lillie tilted her head. “It’s small, isn’t it?”

“No.” Ilima motioned her close with one hand. “Come here.”

Lillie arched an eyebrow and sauntered over. She spun about, gazing up at the trees surrounding her. A trumbeak in the upper branches stared back at her, vibrant blue eyes shining amongst the green. After a moment the pokemon cried out – a high-pitched call – and flew up into the air. Lillie turned back to Ilima and he brushed a long, heavy fern aside, revealing a small tunnel into the cliff. The entrance was trimmed with greenery, small plants and twigs sticking every which way. The tunnel continued into a darkness that Lillie could see no end of.

“D-down there?” Lillie asked. She gulped, trying to quell a growing sense of uncertainty. Ilima nodded.

“Through there is the Verdant Cavern.” Ilima let go of the plant and it slid back into place. “If you wish to turn back, now is your chance. There is no shame in going home.”

“I don’t have that luxury,” Lillie replied, a heaviness in her tone. “What do I have to do?”

“Simple. You have until sundown to collect the Normalium Z and return it to me. It’s in the bottom of this cavern.”

“That’s… that’s it?” Lillie put her hands on her hips. “What’s the catch?”

“A pokemon lives in this cave. A powerful, territorial beast. It is the Totem, the spirit of the Trial. In ancient times, the Totem would need to be slain for the warrior to return home in triumph, but...” Ilima shook his head. “It would be a pain to replace a pokemon over and over again, you know? So you guys grab a special rock instead.”

“I don’t have to fight it?”

“Why would I make you fight it? You _can_ if you want to, but I highly recommend against it.”

Lillie breathed in and then out. _Sounds easy enough… right?_ Get in, grab the stone, get out. No hassle. No problems.

“And if I do this, you’ll take me off the island?” Lillie asked, just to make sure.

“Yes, as is my duty as trial captain.” Ilima nodded. “If you intend to complete the Island Challenge, then at some point you must return to battle Kahuna Hala. But since you have… other motivations, then that will be up to you.”

“All this just to avoid taking a ferry.” Lillie sighed. “I guess… I guess I just have to keep going.”

She stared down into the grassy tunnel. She could see Ilima push the leaves aside. She hesitated at the entrance, staring into the maw. She thought she saw movement in the dark down below. Lillie breathed in and slowly she slid inside.

It was a few dozen feet of awkward crawling later that she realized she should have entered head-first. Lillie struggled against the tunnel walls, gingerly sliding her hands and feet across the sides. She could barely see past her own stomach as the passage turned down and away from her. Soon the entrance was no longer visible, but she could still see the rough details of her surroundings. Whether it got lighter or darker further in, she couldn’t tell.

Her feet slipping over moss-covered rocks, Lillie spent minutes of crawling that felt like much longer. Her arms ached with the effort and her back stung from the many sharp rocks digging into her shirt. Lillie wanted nothing more than to stop and rest. The passage was just wide enough around to curl up in...

A gentle nuzzle on her right hand. Lillie turned to look.

A dark shape gliding over her skin. Lillie froze as she realized what it was. A sharp intake of breath. Lillie felt her heart pounding in her chest. Sweat droplets formed on her arm. She’d seen the insects before, but only ever at a distance. Under rocks or inside glass terrariums. Even then she’d kept a cautious distance, but now...

The centipede had crawled onto her hand, its long antenna gently nudging her wrist. Its many, many legs gently poked into her skin, their tips tinted a heavy blue. It sat motionless, its body nearly an inch wide and quite possibly eight inches long.

Kukui’s voice echoed in her ears.

_The bite of a_ _n Alolan_ _centipede is considered_ _one of the most painful experiences one can have._

A lecture from months before, one she’d barely listened to.

 _Its painfulness i_ _s_ _often_ _said to be_ _a_ _s bad or worse than_ _a_ _gunshot_ _wound_ _, though it varies depending on the amount of venom present in the bite. Usually you can predict how venomous their bites will be depending on the color of their legs. If they’re blue, stay_ _far_ _away._

Lillie stared at the vibrant legs – practically turquoise in color – and at its yellow and black striped antenna. It continued to examine her, the creature motionless except for its two long, slender feelers.

_The pain can persist for up to twelve hours,_ _and can provoke dissociation. Natives of the Old World would let themselves be purposefully stung in order to embark on a spiritual journey. When_ _colonists_ _brought the bug to Alola, the natives did much the same_ _._ _They tend to be highly aggressive when provoked, but can’t see very well. They respond to touch and sound._

The centipede had stopped moving. Lillie held her breath and lifted her hand slowly. Slowly, slowly, she moved her hand up and away from her body as the massive insect wrapped about. Even though it was just a few feet, the motion seemed to take ages. She struggled not to breathe, her chest sprouting in pain at her lack of oxygen. She set her hand down further up the tunnel, laying it flat against the rock. Curious, the creature turned its attention to its new surroundings.

She’d waiting too long.

She breathed in.

And the creature bit.

Lillie opened her mouth to scream but could not manage the sound. Her chest clenched hard, forbidding any air to escape. In a quick motion she shot her hand to the ceiling of the tunnel, smashing the insect’s head against an outcropping rock. Its body crumpled to the floor, its many legs crawling all at once, turning it in circles.

The pain came in waves that washed over her whole body, reverberating outward from the bite. Dull yet vibrant and loud and everywhere. Lillie gasped, her free hand reaching for the bite wound and stopping short. She slid away from the dying insect, a panicked, uncontrolled movement that nearly knocked her over.

Lillie curled up against the tunnel wall, her feet planting into the opposite wall. She pressed against the rock face without even realizing it, the muscles in her legs involuntarily taut. Her entire right arm started to twitch with every wave of pain, eventually morphing into uncontrolled shaking. She struggled to still the limb, to stabilize it.

After a long moment, the tears came. She huddled over her now-useless arm, clutching it tight to her chest and pressing her knees to her chin. Panicked urges to scream, to shout, filled her, but she could manage none of it. Lillie sat immobilized for several minutes, shoulders bobbing with vicious, quiet sobs.

Eventually the initial shock faded. She breathed rapidly, shallowly. Her entire body was wet with heavy sweat. Without realizing it, she had fallen to her side again. Somewhat in control of herself now, she started climbing down the tunnel again, tears soaking her cheeks, the pain still shaking through her body with every movement. Every step, every motion, and she would have to stop, mind fuzzy, gritted teeth barely holding back a fragile cry.

What was already a long journey turned into an eternity, every step taking nearly all the effort she could muster. Every slight disturbance to her wound sent a tsunami of undeniable pain shooting through her, turning the constant shaking of her right arm into torrential tremors.

Lillie finally reached the end of the tunnel and collapsed out onto open dirt and rock. She barely acknowledged her surroundings, instead curling ineffectively on the ground. Her chest thrummed with a hundred tiny breaths, her head growing light.

As she lay there, clutching her trembling arm to her chest, she began to grow distant.

A memory triggered unbidden:

Walking amongst tall machines. Men in white like skyscrapers around her, speaking with words she could barely understand. Men with masks of shining metal. Up above her, the ceiling of the cubical room stretched far, far away.

Voices over the intercom. Familiar voices. The room grew empty. The white robed men had left her all alone.

She called out and nobody answered.

She called again, and _it_ responded.

The world opened up and the eyes stared down. A long, long arm reached for her, flesh dripping from its skin. A tiny hand. Eyes of nothing.

It touched her and it shone with white snow and she saw nothing but darkness.

A sharp intake of breath and she was back.

Lillie devolved into a coughing fit, violent spasms rocking her body. After a moment they subsided. How much time had passed was beyond her. She struggled to her knees, looking around herself. Stiff pain broke into her senses, but this time it didn’t cloud her mind. Her right arm still shook heavily and she could feel where dirt had plastered against many lines of tears, caking her cheeks.

The Verdant Cavern opened up around her, the ground dotted with grass and ferns. Moss lined the long walls that arced away from her into a domed ceiling. It was a massive and roughly circular room. A path to her right led down and away into a central pit. Numerous ridged stalactites ran along the ceiling, short and cuffed.

_Lava stalactites. This area was formed by lava tubes._

She fumbled for her belt, careful not to move her right arm unnecessarily, and drew Koa’s pokeball. The sound of the pokeball whining as it released him echoed throughout the cavern. She stood, each step careful and slow. Lillie walked, hugging close to the wall where the pathway snaked down into the interior. The loudest sound she could hear was the crunch of her own shoes against the dirt.

Koa ran past her, sniffing at the air.

She could feel her own breath shaking, her eyes watering up again. The pain refused to cease, barraging her with every step. Lillie huddled against the wall, her shoulder running along the rock. Along the ceiling stretched long cracks where sunlight could shine through. She still had time until the sun went down, but with no way to know how long she’d been unconscious...

_I have to keep going._

The pathway turned down and away from her and she slipped to one knee. Her right arm flopped away unbidden, striking the rocky wall. Another offshoot of pain. Lillie cried out in full this time, a sobbing shout echoing into the chamber around her, and she stopped moving.

Lillie swayed, a hand racing to her head.

Visions played in her mind again.

“Don’t you think this is going a bit far?” The hushed whispers of a coward.

“It’s this or...” the stronger voice replied with words only half heard, silencing the craven one. “We don’t have a choice.”

“But...”

The voices faded away as she was led down the long hallway. White tile turned black in the absence of light. A strong hand in hers that shook with every step. White masks that refused to look at her.

“Here she is,” a mournful voice called. The man in the mask let go of her hand, nudging her along with one hand. Gentle. “Get started.”

“Excellent,” said the other voice in the dark.

A wet nose against her leg brought her back to reality.

Lillie whimpered and gasped, trying to stand against the cave wall. Koa stood next to her, sniffing her leg. Lillie started to slip to the ground, her feet giving out.

“What...” Lillie withdrew her hands. They trembled heavily, the shaking traveling up her arms. Her entire body felt unstable, as if barely able to keep itself together. Strained notes erupted from her mouth, involuntary spasms of her vocal chords. Koa nudged her, eyes wide with confusion.

And then all at once it faded. The pain in her arm seemed to withdraw, the aching vibrations retreating. It was still there, only distant.

She stood uncertainly, one hand pressed firmly against the wall. Lillie stared down into the central hub of the Verdant Cavern. There was only one path, the corkscrew of dirt and rock that wound around the edges of the cave, spinning around as it descended down, down, down.

“I have to keep going...” Lillie mumbled, her voice sounding as if it was far away. She could not see the bottom of the cave from here, but still she pressed on.

Lights danced at the edge of her vision.

“Stop it...” she whimpered as the needle pricked her skin. She cried out, but there was no one to answer her plea.

The man in white withdrew himself, a vial of red, red blood in hand. She stared up into the fluorescent lights above and they burned into her vision. Somehow she couldn’t look away. She didn’t want to look away.

“Every time she’s brought in here, she gets less responsive.” A familiar voice whispering to the side.

“What are we supposed to do? Say no?”

She wanted to roll over, to relax, but she was bound to the seat. Above her a machine whirred to life, drowning the voices out. The sound grew closer and closer and closer…

She screamed.

“Get out of my head!” she shouted at nothing. The empty cavern open and silent except for her. She stood at the bottom now, at the end of the corkscrew path. It terminated in the center of the massive pit, a raised dais in the exact center of the roughly circular cave. When she’d arrived here, she had no idea. She was sweating heavily, her footing unstable.

Koa was growling – had been growling for a while, actually. An unsettled, uncertain sound coming from far away even though the pokemon stood right at her side.

She saw the reason: a shadow loomed, vicious and large. The shape of a large pokemon stood in front of her. Massive teeth and claws, a form similar to Ilima’s yungoos, only much, much larger. What little flesh remained was swollen and distended, discolored and fatigued. The eyes were gone completely, leaving only two pitch black holes that stared into her. The lower half of its body had melted away, its exposed spine standing perpendicular to the ground. Long arms reached for her, the flesh dripping slowly off the bone.

Koa circled the massive body slowly, his eyes never once leaving the bloated mass.

Lillie’s head spun. The light was burned into her eyes, shining purple with every blink. When she opened them again, she saw a twinkle on the rock platform. She stepped around the pokemon corpse, gingerly moving towards the shining light.

It lay unceremoniously near the corner of the raised rock, resting on one of its sheer faces. Lillie picked it up carefully. Small, white, adorned with a complete black circle with two incomplete semicircles around that. The Normalium Z. She slipped it into her shorts pocket.

“I did it,” she said, her voice nearly silent.

Lillie collapsed against the platform, shivering. Somehow she felt so cold. Light sprinkled in from above – cracks in the moss covered ceiling. Shafts illuminated sprinkling dust that reached down to her. Koa had followed her around the corpse of the Totem, gingerly sniffing at Lillie. After a while the pokemon looked about before fixating on something laying against the far wall.

“What’s up, Koa?” Lillie asked, gently patting her pokemon’s head. Even just moving her free arm ached. She turned towards where he looked.

When she saw it, she froze.

A cage of yellow metal like circular disks extending outwards. Four pairs of them, with a final pair intersecting them lengthwise. In the center lay a sphere of cold purple enclosed, a familiar black balled shape floating within. It lay against the far wall, leaning against the rock. Motionless.

“Nebby?” Lillie gasped.

There was no response. The pokemon had changed somehow. It was silent, as if asleep. It simply lay there. There was no reaction to its name, no recognition. If it was even the same pokemon, that is. Lillie stood slowly.

It had been nearly a month and yet…

Lillie limped over to the silent pokemon and crouched before it.

“Did you do this?” Lillie looked back at the Totem pokemon. “What are you even doing here?”

There was no response. Not even the slightest movement. Lillie grit her teeth, reaching down with one hand. She wrapped her hand around the pokemon’s roughly ovaline shape and pulled. It wouldn’t budge, not even slightly.

“How heavy are you?” Lillie grunted, struggling to lift him to no effect. “I can’t...”

Then, all of a sudden, the click of metal bumping against rock, and the rigid pokemon rose. She pulled at it gently and it followed without effort. Even without touching the pokemon it would sit motionless in the air, as if waiting for her.

Lillie stood, cradling the pokemon under one arm, and walked back to the ramp. Above her the path reached away, circling up into the rest of the Verdant Cavern.

She stopped at the corpse of the Totem and stared for a long moment.

“I’m sorry,” she said, even though it would never hear her.

And she limped up the rocky path, every step agitating her still-aching wound. Koa raced on ahead of her and she cradled the silent and motionless Nebby under one arm. One step after another. One step after another.

The journey back was slow progress, but constant. When she reached the tunnel leading out, she paused, hesitating, but only for a moment.

A deep breath in and she dropped to her hands and knees, beginning to crawl.

She reached the body of the centipede, its crushed head oozing a thick liquid she didn’t want to recognize. Lillie paused, watching as its many legs still lazily shuffled about. Even dead the creature refused to be still. Lillie grabbed a fistful of dirt, covering the insect completely, and continued on.

When she took that last step out into the fading afternoon light, Ilima was there. He smiled down at her, extending a hand and pulling her up and out of the tunnel. For a long moment they both stood there silently. The tears had long since dried on Lillie’s face, but the dust and dirt remained. Her clothes were a mess, torn and dirtied. Every few moments she’d feel the heavy wave of pain emanating from the bite, but it no longer knocked her off her feet. Under one arm she carried Nebby, the pokemon not having uttered a single sound. Lillie gingerly pulled the Normalium Z from her shorts pocket and Ilima nodded.

“Congratulations, Lillie,” her mentor said softly. “What an incredible trainer you have become.”


	26. Part I: Epilogue

****The man who beat people down and beat people down and never let up was in a very foul mood. He watched as a couple of his underlings gingerly carried his purple throne down the front steps of his now nearly-destroyed mansion. The building was beginning to list inwards because of the gap Luna had created, tearing at the walls and uprooting the floors. One of the goons, a former carpenter, told him that it was just a matter of time before the whole building collapsed.

Three days ago, Kaipo had called in to state that he was about to engage the girl. And then nothing.

Three days of nothing.

“Fuck!” Guzma lashed out with his foot, striking a nearby fence post. A nearby grunt jumped in surprise, dropping the trunk he was carrying. It shuddered, the door swinging wide open, Buginium Z spilling across the muddy road. Hundreds of glittering green crystals marred with brown. Guzma glared at the short man who bent down to hurriedly pick them all up.

Guzma limped off, nursing his now-aching foot. He stopped in front of his mansion, stepping around the grunting underlings that were moving his throne.

“Careful with that,” Guzma said, slapping the cushion roughly. The men bustled off towards one of the smaller houses where Guzma was setting up his new headquarters. It was a step down, to say the least.

“Gotta take over another town,” Guzma grumbled to himself. “Get myself a new mansion.”

A vibrating sound in his pocket. Guzma pulled out the prepaid phone, watching the name on the screen with no small sense of suspicion. It was Wicke, likely ordered by Lusamine to find out what the hell was going on with the girl.

He shoved the phone back into his pocket. Lusamine would have to wait.

It’s been a long time since he’d seen her in person. These days she was always sending her goons his way, talking through mediators and deal-makers. Honestly it was getting a bit dull. Guzma leaned against the chain-link fence, closing his eyes and breathing in the chilly morning air. It was gonna rain again later.

He remembered the first time he met her.

It was back under Kahuna Pokani, before he got wrecked by the Tapu along with an entire village. Years ago now. Guzma breathed in, remembering the sea breeze. She’d leaned against the railing on Pokani’s yacht, staring off into the distance. Ocean waves rocked gently, a sea breeze blowing at her hair just a little. She was awfully far from everyone else, spending the night standing in the shadows rather than socializing with the rest of the crowd.

She looked so sad, but more importantly she looked great in that one-piece dress. Guzma smirked as he remembered the tiny white and black outfit. Leaning over the railing the way she did, if her dress was even an inch shorter he would have seen everything. Long, thin legs and high, high heels. Just the way the big bad Guzma liked it.

“I’m married,” was the first damn thing she said to him as she displayeda simple gold ring. “And I’m a mother of two, so don’t even think about it.”

She looked _young_ to have two brats.

“Don’t worry about me, lady.” Guzma smirked at her, leaning his back against the railing right next to her. She turned back to the ocean. “You see, all these other mooks and grunts and nobodies, I’m sure they’ve been approaching you all night. But me?I’m different from all of them.”

“Oh?” Lusamine smirked at him. Something about the way she tilted her head just then, the way she smiled that half-smile. It was that exact moment. “And how are you different?”

“Unlike all of them...” Guzma ran his hand over the small crowd he could see from here. Some of them Pokani’s goons. Some of them businessmen. A few of them foreign mafia. They crowded around the pool. A few girls had their tops off and were frolicking about the water, shrieking and shouting playfully as they entertained the many guests. “Unlike all of them, I’m gonna be somebody.”

Lusamine threw her head back and laughed.

Lots of people had laughed at Guzma before her, and lots of people had laughed at him after her. And every damn time, Guzma showed them exactly why that was a mistake. Even if it took him a long time – it took him years to get back at his old man, months to get back at Kahuna Pokani – Guzma always came out on top.

But when she laughed at him, it didn’t even matter.

“Sorry, sorry.” Lusamine quieted herself. “You know there’s some important people down there, right? I heard rumors there’s even some Team Rocket.”

“Team Rocket’s dead and gone,” Guzma said, but probably too loudly. He shushed himself, glancing about quickly to make sure nobody overheard. “I ain’t afraid of the dead,” he insisted.

“Right, of course you aren’t.” Lusamine smiled. “You work for Kahuna Pokani, right?”

“That I do, ma’am,” Guzma replied. He stopped, realizing what he’d said. Guzma turned away, trying to hide the sudden embarrassment showing on his face.

“Ma’am?” Lusamine’s face seemed almost shocked. After a while she giggled. “How respectful to come from such a big and important man.” A pause. “What’s your name?”

“Guzma!” He replied immediately, leaning in to her. “The name’s Guzma, and I’m the baddest man on this boat. Ain’t nobody, not Team Rocket, not Kahuna Pokani, nobody that’s as bad as me.”

“Well, Guzma,” Lusamine turned, holding out a hand, her arm straight as an arrow, “it’s very nice to meet you. My name is Lusamine.”

Prettiest damn name he’d ever heard.

“Hey!” Guzma snapped from the memory, looking about himself roughly. A car had parked in front of him, the panicked faces of his men peering at him. Guzma raised an eyebrow as the back door opened. It was only when boots planted on the ground and a familiar man stepped out did Guzma understand what had made them so uncertain.

Yuri hobbled towards him, half his face hidden behind a bleeding bandage. He hobbled over on a crutch – really just a plank of wood – that dug into his right armpit. His right leg was busted up badly. Real badly.

“The fuck happened to you?” Guzma approached.

Gingerly, the man pointed towards one of the houses. Guzma nodded, understanding.

* * *

“So the plan failed and now we have no idea where the hell they are?” Guzma reiterated. Yuri nodded. It was amazing how the man could tell the entire story in so few words. It was also amazing that he had spoken this much at all. On any other day, in any other circumstances, Guzma would have been floored.

In any other circumstance.

“Fuck!” Guzma stood, flipping the short wooden table separating the two men. It spun off towards the side of the room, crashing and settling onto its side. Guzma breathed heavily, staring at Yuri the entire time. The man did nothing but stare back coolly.

“The deal with Lusamine hinged on that girl,” Plumeria noted. When she’d come in, Guzma had no idea. “This is gonna cause a lot of problems.”

“Yeah, no shit!” Guzma kicked at one of the table legs but missed, his foot extending awkwardly into the air. “No girl means no guns means no plans!”

Yuri stood, motioning towards the door. Guzma growled, waving him off. The blond man nodded, grabbing up his makeshift crutch and slowly hobbling towards the door. Plumeria held the door open for him, ducking out of the way. When he was gone, she slowly closed the door behind him.

“Lusamine and you are tight, right?” Plumeria started, a hopeful optimism in her voice. “If you go and speak with her, you might be able to smooth things over. Maybe figure out a way to… a way to fix this.”

“We _were_ tight,” Guzma growled. “A long time ago. And what am I gonna say? ‘Oh, hey babe, long time no talk. By the way, I may have accidentally gotten your kid killed.’”

“Maybe don’t say it like that,” Plumeria suggested, wincing. “Could we go to another source?”

“Aether Foundation’s the only group influential enough to move that kind of cargo in and out of Alola without Unova noticing,” Guzma said, the force in his voice quickly dwindling. He sank into the chair Yuri had been sitting at, staring at the door. “And besides, there’s not exactly a big money sink sitting around for us to sip out of without them.”

“Have you heard back from...”

“Not yet, no.” Guzma stood, pacing about the room, thinking. After a long time heleaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, sighing heavily.

“I’m gonna call Lusamine. Plumeria, we’re gonna need your boat.”

They left within the hour, Plumeria helming their boat. There was an Aether Foundation outpost towards the south edge of the island, close to where they ran the orphanage. When they arrived, the Aether Foundation employees quickly shuffled them both into a seaplane, herding them through shadows as if their very presence was an affront to the proper order.

Guzma grinned at that.

He sat in the rickety metal cage that was the seaplane’s interior. Loud buzzing around him, shaking. It would have been impossible to hear either Plumeria or the pilot, so all three of them remained silent. Guzma found he preferred it.

His thoughts drifted back to that night again.

“I’ve probably got ten years on you. Would you still flirt with an old lady?” Lusamine was leaning against the yacht wall. She was a tall woman made taller by her stiletto heels, but Guzma still towered over her. He pressed one arm against the wall above her head, leaning in close.

“Don’t look it. And if you don’t look it, I don’t see a reason to care.” Guzma’s response was quick.

“So it’s all about looks for you?”

“80%, maybe.”

Lusamine laughed again, a mirthful sound that lifted itself above the bustle of the crowd. Though the two were separate from the chaotic mass of the rest of the party-goers, they weren’t that far off. A few of Kahuna Pokani’s enforcers were glaring at Guzma.

“Here, let’s ah, let’s head this way,” Guzma gently lay a hand on Lusamine’s back moving her away from the party, towards the shadows of the other end of the boat.

“May I remind you I’m married.” Lusamine’s voice was like a purr. She ran a finger over his chest and walked ahead of him.

When they were a good distance from the party, Guzma leaned against the boat railing and watched the woman walk towards him. The moon was out in full tonight, shining over them both. This particular deck was empty of people, its wood floors shining nearly white. Far, far past the edge of the boat, nearly a mile off, he could see the shimmering lights and bustle of Melemele City.

“So what’s a fine lady like you doing with this trash?” Guzma asked. He absently batted at his pockets, looking for a cigarette. He sighed in disappointment when he couldn’t find one.

“It’s… difficult to explain,” she said. A conflicted expression. She joined him on the railing and reached into her purse, pulling out two cigarettes. When she offered one to Guzma he grinned wide, eagerly accepting it. “Here, let me.”

Lusamine leaned closer, lighting his easily before lighting her own.

“I’m a man of boundless intelligence, Lusamine,” Guzma said, gesturing widely. “Try me.”

“You know...” Lusamine had adopted that mile-long gaze again. “You really don’t know who I am, do you? At first I thought you were just acting, but...”

“What, you someone important?”

Lusamine looked up at him. Guzma, for all his suave and cunning, found himself unable to figure out the expression running across her face at that moment. She fiddled with her wedding ring, twisting it back and forth, back and forth. A chill wind blew over them both and Lusamine clutched her arms around herself, shivering.

“No, not particularly.”

Guzma jerked awake just as the seaplane pulled into the shadowed overhang of the Aether Paradise docks. Above him he could see rows upon rows of fluorescent lights leading them in. The seaplane followed them, rumbling a constant low note as it splashed over the water.

Further up, Guzma could see a number of shapes waiting along the water’s edge. A few of the men in masks. They’d have guns most likely, but not on display. Then there was the plump lady, with frizzy, poofy hair. A face he recognized.

Wicke.

When the plane pulled in close, the men in masks were instantly on alert. The pilot stood quickly, unlatching a side door and letting it slide open, forming a makeshift ramp. Guzma lifted his hands, showing he had nothing to hide as he stepped onto artificial land. One of the men gestured to his pokeballs and Wicke doddered over to him.

“Would you kindly hand those over, sir?”

Guzma sighed heavily, tossing his head back a one of the Aether Foundation grunts walked forward.

“Of _fucking_ course,” he said, throwing his arms out to the side. After a moment he unlatched his pokeballs and placed them on an outstretched tray. One of the masked men motioned for him to follow.

“Entertain Plumeria, wontcha?” Guzma said, clapping Wicke on the shoulder. The portly woman jumped in surprise, stammering a stifled response.

“Yes, Wicke. Entertain me _._ ” Plumeria sidled up next to the woman, visibly disturbing her. Guzma stalked off after his escort.

He was barely inside the facility when his phone began to ring.

* * *

A scion of destruction, a prodigy of pain, a leader of the vilest of vile scum. He’d brought together mercenaries and criminals and lowlifes and drug addicts and made them into an army. He’d conquered Po Town. He owned the Alolan underworld. He’d come from nothing, born from trash, and rose. He took the ruins of Kahuna Pokani’s shithole of a gang and made into something _respectable._ He was the man who beat people down and beat people down and...

And this _kid_ was telling him what was up.

“I’ve said this before, Guzma. We had a deal. You want what I have, you have to deliver.”

The voice was sharp over the phone and Guzma paused in the long white tiled hallway. He slammed a fist into one wall and the white-masked man escorting him turned. Guzma stared fury into the Aether Foundation enforcer and the escort turned about, pretending not to notice his outburst. Guzma slowly walked further away, until he was just out of earshot. Guzma pressed the phone into his shoulder, digging into his pockets to search for a cigarette or some candy or _something_ to munch on. He found nothing.

“And I said that there’s been a delay. Ain’t nothing I can do about it,” the leader of Team Skull replied. When Guzma saw himself, he saw a wise man, an intelligent man. He saw a man of ideals and culture, with patience overflowing. But this brat was testing all of it. “You and your people want your guns and your ammo but you ain’t gonna get it until I solve this little problem.”

“I’ve already had to wait–”

“You’re gonna be waiting longer anyway!” Guzma roared, kicking the wall this time instead. A show of force, one that was motivated by his righteous anger, not the pain now running up his wrist from punching the wall.

He might have to see Doctor Turner about that.

“And what do you know about–”

“Where’s your figurehead?” Guzma gingerly nursed his now-stinging foot. He thought he had an iron toe in these boots, but that only made it worse. “I thought you were gonna raise up the princess or whatever to rally the people. But I ain’t hearing no whispers about a princess, and I certainly ain’t seeing no rallies. You gotta wait anyway!”

“These things take time, Guzma. You should–” Guzma cut off the voice.

“Sounds to me like you’re fucking up. When we made this deal, you said six months and you’d have a rebellion. Now you’re telling me you can’t give me what I want and you still want to get your shit? Bullshit.” Guzma growled, rubbing his limp wrist. “You ain’t got no princess. You ain’t got no cash. You ain’t got no rebellion. And now there’s a whole ‘nother bunch of shit for me to deal with that ain’t even _relevant_ to you.”

“The Aether Foundation?”

“Look, kid, I want to help you. I really do. We want the same thing. You want Alola. I want Alola. It’s a match made in heaven. Similar men, similar goals. I get it.” Guzma gingerly set his aching foot back down on the ground, testing to see if he could stand on it.

“I want Alola _for the people_. You just want to run drugs and make money.” The voice sighed. “I wouldn’t call us similar.”

“Every legitimate industry has to have it’s underbelly,” Guzma cackled.

“So then work with me. Give me what I want.”

“I can’t.” Guzma shrugged. “I only got half, anyway. The deal with Lusamine is falling apart and I’m about to try and fix that shit. Who knows what’s gonna happen. The whole fucking Foundation is panicking and fuck if I understand why.”

“The Faller girl?”

“Missing. Lusamine’s son is gone too. And to top it all off, Kukui lost track of her daughter two weeks ago, so they’re literally running around like torchics with their heads cut off.”

A long, heavy pause.

“Why would the daughter be relevant?”

“Crap, brah, I don’t fucking know. One of the white fuckers told me it had to do with the dad’s pants? I don’t know why jeans would have anything to do with it–”

“You mean genes?”

“Yeah, jeans. Fuck if I get why.”

A longer pause. Guzma examined his wrist. Was it starting to swell? Briefly he considered the logic behind why he had punched the wall. The boy he was trying to intimidate wasn’t even around to see it. Was the gesture worth the potential injury? Was the wanton outburst of impact-less violence truly a necessary action?

 _Shit yeah, it always is._ Guzma smirked.

“Then...” An oddly weighed silence. Then, “I may have a solution to both of our problems, Guzma.” The voice was quiet, hesitant at first, but then very, very firm.

Guzma stopped, listening intently. “Tell me.”

* * *

**END OF PART I**

* * *

 


	27. Interlude I: Memories of Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a somewhat edited version of Memories of Rain, my one-shot about Lillie and Gladion's childhood. I took that down and stuck it in here, figuring it fit better into this story than it did on its own.

****“Eww! You really kissed her?” Lillie recoiled in horror, the little girl’s eyes wide. “That’s so gross!”

“Sh-shut up!” Gladion pushed his sister away and she giggled, spinning about. Her bare feet padding through the emerald green grass as she twirled. Gladion blushed furiously, turning his face to hide it.

“You’re blushing!” Lillie pointed. Gladion howled, standing up and running off towards her. “You kissed her! You kissed her!”

White dress flowing in the wind, the girl ran as fast as her small legs could carry her. Gladion let her outrun him, halfheartedly chasing her across the yard. She laughed as she reached the end of the grassy field, where green turned sharply to bright white tile. Lillie paused, tilting her head at him as she waited.

“I only kissed her because of that stupid movie,” Gladion muttered as he drew near.

“It was so cool!” Lillie’s eyes brightened up, wide green jewels shaded by her wide brimmed hat. “I want to dance in the rain!”

“It doesn’t rain in Aether Paradise.” Gladion shrugged. “Guess you’re never gonna do it.”

“It rains here!” Lillie pouted.

“No it doesn’t.”

“Yes it does!”

“Faba told me it doesn’t!” Gladion poked her shoulder, the force of it nearly enough to knock the little girl over. “They picked this spot in the ocean because it’s unusually peaceful.”

“Well,” Lillie started, all fifty pounds of her scowling furiously at him, “Faba’s dumb!”

Lillie took off running again, this time over the bright white tiles of the Aether Paradise. Gladion reluctantly followed after her. He gazed about himself. Large sections of the rooftops of the artificial island were completely flat, with lush, full grass fields adorning them. He could see several men in pure white clothes – t-shirts, pants, shorts, even shoes – playing soccer in the grass atop another building. It was another one of the lower offshoots of the main platform, an arced bridge connecting to the main hub.

“Gladion!” Lillie called out. She was already across this building, standing in the entrance to the conservatory. Its massive, glass dome ceiling stretched far, far above. He could see the many bird pokemon flying about inside, their calls mingling in a faint background.

“I’m coming...” Gladion sighed, trudging over to her.

“Stop thinking about Amy and hurry up, big brother!” Lillie shouted. Gladion panicked as he quickly checked around them. Nobody else within earshot… that he could see. He sighed, relieved.

Truth be told, it wasn’t _that_ great of a kiss. Maybe because it wasn’t in the rain like in the movie. Amy was from one of the families that lived onboard the Paradise and one of the few other kids living here. And the only pretty one, though Lillie would throw a fit if she heard him say that. Her father was an… Enimilogist? Entei-mologist? Entomologist? He studied bugs and bug pokemon. When Gladion visited them last, he was working with a captive pinsir!

Pretty cool actually.

Gladion would often visit Professor Steinbeck, Amy’s dad, and help out in his lab. He was always bringing in weird and strange pokemon. Some of them were dangerous and Gladion wouldn’t be allowed near them, but many times they were docile creatures like mothim or surskit. And the professor was a trainer too! His only pokemon, a ledian, was super strong! Or at least Gladion thought it was.

“God, you’re so slow!” Lillie stamped one foot down heavily as he walked up.

“You should put on your shoes, Lillie. There’s all sorts of stuff on the floors in the conservatory, you know?”

Lillie puffed out her cheeks, folding her arms. “You can’t tell me what to do!”

She rooted around the entryway, finally finding the shoes she’d discarded half an hour before. Lillie slipped them on quickly. Little white sneakers that matched her little white dress. Gladion rolled his eyes. Her outfit had to have been mother’s idea.

“Let’s go visit Jeffrey!”

Jeffrey was, though the name certainly would never imply it, an unusually rotund araquanid. And female. Gladion and Lillie found her in one of the lower level pools in the conservatory, where it lazily spread itself out along the surface of the water. She was a massive spider, measuring nearly six feet tall when standing normally, but she seemed much smaller with her bulbous body laying flat, her legs evenly distributed around herself.

Gladion and Lillie stopped at the edge of the artificial pool, where the observation platform hung over the water. Lillie pointed at the far side.

“Look, Gladion! Look look look look!” She was jumping up and down, the eager tapping of sneakers against tile like the sounds of a tiny marching army. “Look at the eggs!”

Large and white, clinging together in a mucus sac, the bag of eggs drifted along the top of the pond water. Jeffrey was always hanging around near the pouch. Briefly Gladion wondered who the father was. He hadn’t seen any other araquanid around anywhere. Lillie was leaning against the fence, squinting hard at the docile insect pokemon.

“Amy’s dad says araquanids can eat children, you know,” Gladion smirked, leaning down and whispering the words into Lillie’s ears. “They’ll crawl into your bed at night thinking you’re a really fat, juicy caterpie and eat you whole.”

“Nuh-uh! You’re lying!” Lillie shook her head.

Gladion smirked. It was getting harder to fool his sister every year.

The two siblings lingered by the water a while, Lillie chattering excitedly about the pokemon in this part of the conservatory. The araquanid Jeffrey, the numerous magikarp and wishiwashi, the occasional beautifly that fluttered by. There was even a pineco tucked near the back corner, a pokemon that Amy’s dad said was really rare!

The sun was beginning to paint the sky a deep red when the intercom system started playing that familiar song. Lillie groaned and sighed and Gladion reached out to her, rubbing her hair with one hand. The girl swatted at him but didn’t try to fight him. She closed her eyes, leaning into Gladion as he stroked her hair.

“I don’t wanna go home yet,” Lillie pouted. “I was having fun here.”

“We’ll just have to have fun at home,” Gladion said. He held out his hand and Lillie took it. “C’mon. Let’s go back.”

“You’re just gonna sneak off to see Amy,” Lillie snarked.

Gladion blushed. _She’s sharp…_

Granted, as a way of repaying his sister for having to ditch her later, Gladion took the long route back with her. Up and up in a glass and white metal elevator, to the top of the conservatory where all the birds made their nests. Feathers fluttered about on the path, and one of the scientests was checking each one as if he was looking for something. He looked up at them and smiled.

“H-hi...” Lillie said, ducking shyly behind Gladion.

From the aviary Gladion led them both out to the elevated terrace. There were a couple Aether Foundation members here, most of them in pairs. A few watched the sunset, while others chatted quietly among themselves.

“Check it out, Lillie!” Gladion pointed out at the horizon, the sun dangling wide and red just above. Rays of orange and yellow stretched through the sky, lighting up criss-crossing sections of thin, wispy clouds. The ocean stretched out all around the entire artificial island, flat and calm. In the fading sunlight the aqua was shifting to a sharp navy.

Lillie was unimpressed.

“It’s just a sunset.” She folded her arms. Gladion sighed.

The terrace led directly down – well, if many flights of stairs were considered direct – into the main hub. Hundreds of people walked about this high-ceilinged, rectangular room. There were shops with bright lights flickering purple and yellow and red, restaurants with dim atmospheres emanating cool music, and even an arcade where several scientists huddled around this flashy game or that.

“Want to stop by Nick’s?” Gladion gestured to the neon blue sign hanging above the wide front window of the arcade, the four-letter word gleaming. Lillie shook her head.

“I want to see a movie.”

“A movie?” Gladion snickered. “You mean _the_ movie.”

Lillie pouted. Honestly, Gladion hadn’t been the biggest fan of it when the theater briefly showed it. A foreign film about a pair of lovers, artists the both of them, who met in a pub. Even when it poured rain on them in the streets, they had danced. Despite that, the two characters grew further apart over time, neither ever quite emulating that feeling of joy they initially had with each other. Mother said it was some sort of metaphor or whatever.

Gladion honestly thought it was kinda boring, and it was so _old_. Lillie, though, couldn’t shut up about it – even weeks later.

“I wish the theater still had it,” Lillie whined.

“You complain a lot for a seven-year-old,” Gladion teased her.

“I’m eight!” Lillie stamped her foot.

Through the central hub and past the throngs of Aether Foundation members, the two siblings walked towards the back of Aether Paradise. They walked through pure white tile hallways lit by rows of hundreds of fluorescent lights, then out into the now-dark sky as they walked across a field of grass and then, finally, they stopped at a dark iron gate.

“Evenin’,” the grizzly old man sitting in his small security booth said, his mouth barely moving, his eyes barely looking up from his newspaper. He pressed a button and the gate started to crawl open.

Together they walked, hand in hand, over the small bridge and into the main courtyard of their parent’s mansion. By now the sky was nearly black. Before they reached the front door, Gladion turned back, looking at the rest of Aether Paradise. It was like a castle of white reaching far into the sky, shining in the night. The bustle of people sounded so far away, but was still there, always there.

In they went, through the front door, across the velvet carpeted main hall (Gladion made sure Lillie removed her shoes before entering, of course). Gladion glanced back out the massive front windows, the clear glass stretching from the floor all the way to the ceiling above the second floor. He could see nearly all of the courtyard from here. Gladion turned his attention back to the inside of the house.

It was the kitchen where they found their mother.

She stood with her back to them, standing over the kitchen counter, focused hard on _something._ When Lillie saw her, the little girl perked immediately up, running towards her.

“Mommy!”

Lillie tackled Mother’s leg and the woman turned about, surprised. She looked at them both, shocked for just a moment. Gladion hung back in the doorway and smiled at his mom. She smiled back, the corners of her eyes wrinkling softly. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and she was still dressed in her work clothes, a sharp black skirt and a frilly white blouse.

“Aren’t you excited to be home?” Mother laughed. It was a mirthful sound much like Lillie’s laugh but deeper, soft in a different way, a hint of elegance to it his eight-year-old sister couldn’t even begin to grasp.

“We were playing on the grass after school was out,” Gladion explained. “And then we went to see Jeffrey in the conservatory. Her eggs still haven’t hatched yet.”

Mother rolled her eyes. “You know that isn’t what Professor Steinbeck named her.”

Gladion shrugged. “Lillie’s word is law.”

Mother knelt down so she was face to face with Lillie and hugged her, drawing the little girl in close. Lillie coughed, feigning running out of air. When Mother pulled away, Lillie gave her a toothy grin. She kissed Lillie and then stood, gesturing to the counter.

“I was making a snack for us, but then I got a text from your dad. Looks like it’s just the three of us tonight for dinner,” Mother stated. “He has to stay late at the lab. Something important came up in his research and he can’t step away from it right now.” Gladion fought back a sudden sense of disappointment. “I’ll have to figure out what we’re going to eat. Any preferences?”

“Can we eat Gladion?” Lillie asked, tugging at Mother’s long skirt.

“I’m not sure how nutritious he would be,” Mother replied. Gladion rolled his eyes.

“Actually I, uh, I wanted to go to Amy’s,” Gladion said, walking into the kitchen. He leaned against one of the marble counter-tops, absently running one finger along its pristine surface. “I wanted to talk to her, uh, her dad. About bugs.”

Mother adopted a mischievous grin. “Funny story, actually. I was just chatting to Doctor Steinbeck today. He happened to stop by to ask about funding for next year’s conservation project. You know, for the Melemele Island tirtouga population? His wife is very fond of turtles. Anyway, he happened to mention you.”

“Oh, yeah?” Gladion looked away, anywhere but at his mother. “Did he now? Wow that’s uh, that’s odd. What could he, uh, what could he possibly have to say about me?”

“Well, it wasn’t just about you, Gladion.” Mother smiled. “He brought up Amy as well. Said you two have been… darn, what’s the word for it?”

“FRENCH KISSING!” Lillie interjected, pointing at Gladion.

“I didn’t french kiss her!” he protested. “I only… uh… regularly kissed her.”

“John was quite shocked, as was I!” Mother covered her hand with one mouth, eyes wide. It was always odd to hear Doctor Steinbeck’s first name. “I didn’t think I’d have to be drawing up marriage plans so quickly! There’s so much to do. I have to call relatives, buy you a proper suit, convince your father to sign the papers, pay for–”

“Mom!” Gladion protested. “I’m not _marrying_ her! And how did her dad find out anyway?”

“A little bird told him.” Mother shrugged. All it took was seeing Lillie’s wide grin for Gladion to guess who the bird was. She must have known even before told her, that rat. Mother continued: “I don’t want to cook tonight. Do you two want pizza?”

“Yes!” both of the kids immediately replied.

“Alright. Let me order that. Gladion, you can go to Amy’s after we’re done with dinner. I’ll call John and make sure it’s all right. I’m sure either him or his wife will want to keep tabs on you two.”

“Why can’t I go out at night?” Lillie complained. “I’m old enough!”

“In a few more years you will be, sweetie.” Mother ruffled Lillie’s hair. “Gladion, can you fetch my coupon book for me? I think it’s in my study.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Gladion walked off. The study was on the second floor, near his parents’ bedroom. He trudged up the central staircase, his bare feet dragging along the soft carpeting. The maids must have done a cleaning today – he could smell the detergent emanating from the floor, a flowery scent.

He pushed open the heavy oak door to Mother’s study and crept inside. It was musty and old, with heavy wood furniture filling the space. Standing upright at her desk was one of Mother’s ridiculously thin computers. Gladion sat down on her wide leather desk chair and leaned all the way back. If he craned his neck he could read the titles of her books on the shelves behind him.

“’On the Origin of Species’, ‘Crime and Punishment’, ‘Strategies of the Warring States’, and...” Gladion squinted at the last title, “…’Machop Saves the Universe’? Of course Lillie’s leaving her books in here again.”

Gladion sat up and checked around the desk for a bit. The coupon book was easy enough to find, but it was the text underneath that caught his eye. Gladion stared at the title for a bit, trying to make sense of it.

“’Initial observation data promising. Necessitates further resources. Existence of boundary dimension plausible.’” Gladion arched an eyebrow at that. “Weird.”

Gladion shrugged, tossing the paper back onto his mother’s desk and hurrying back out of her study. He closed the heavy door behind her and paused. He listened carefully, an odd pattering against the ceiling. A pokemon? No, it was too quick for that.

He was walking down the stairs when his mother hurried into the entry hall, a somewhat worried expression on her face. She glanced at him, one hand nervously gripping the handrail.

“Was your sister up there with you?” she asked. “She was with me in the kitchen until just a moment ago, but she...” Gladion’s mother paused, looking about herself. “Is that sound… is that rain?”

Gladion listened. The pattering had grown louder, much louder, less like a dance of tiny feet and now much more like the torrential downpour that it was. It rang through the entry hall. Gladion looked at his mother uncertainly.

Outside, a sharp wail and cry, cut off quickly.

“Lillie!” both Gladion and Lusamine said together. They turned to the direction of the sound, out the giant glass windows. Lillie was clawing to her feet outside, her tiny body illuminated by one of the courtyard lamps. Blood dripped from a scraped knee as the girl got to her feet, her clothes soaked through and sticking to her body.

Mother rushed outside, throwing the front doors wide. Gladion walked to the open doorway, feeling the wind whipping over him, watching as his mother ran to his sister. The little girl spun about, smiling and laughing. He could only barely hear her above the din.

“Mommy! Mommy! Look!” Lillie cried out, twirling again, her platinum blonde hair sticking fast to her head. “It’s raining! It’s raining!”

The girl spun in the rain, sliding about on her back heel. She slipped, crying out in surprise, but Mother reached out quickly, catching her.

Mother and daughter standing out in the rain, both now completely drenched. Lillie looked at her mother, who kneeled in front of her, holding Lillie tight, and the little girl laughed.

“I was dancing!” Lillie excitedly called, grinning.

Lusamine stood, her daughter’s hands in her own, and smiled back. She kicked off her heels and spun, gently stepping in a wide circle so that Lillie could match her pace. Gladion leaned in the doorway, watching them both, smiling.

Mother and daughter together in the rain.


	28. Part II: Acerola I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so begins Part II. Not every trial will take the same length as the first one, as you'll see. Part II begins two weeks down the line, with our three main characters just beginning to settle into their new circumstances.
> 
> For now, at least.

* * *

**Part II: A Betrayal**

* * *

_We need to talk._

The gentle grays and greens of Acerola’s phone glowed, punctuating the dark. It made the blackness around her impenetrable. The silence of her room gnawed at her, her heartbeat drumming in her ears. Somehow the combination unnerved her – she could only hear herself, and the absence of all other noise was like a cold pressure in the back of her mind.

Ilima’s text message was easily three days old. She hadn’t responded, hadn’t even made up her mind about responding at all. The last time she had seen him was at his trial house when she left with Hau. He’d been softer then than he had in years. They’d talked through texts somewhat, but both of them had been extremely slow to respond to each other.

Acerola scrolled up through the texts, stopping at a brief conversation from two weeks prior. Ilima was explaining how Lillie had completed his trial, but that his totem had been killed before she even had a chance to fight it. Ilima had questioned whether Lillie beating the trial was legitimate or not, but decided to let her pass anyway.

 _Flesh melting off the bone. Eyes rotted away. Lower half of the body completely vaporized. Spine fused with the rock floor._ _Its arms were raised like it was reaching for something, or maybe fleeing?_

Acerola could only imagine what it looked like. Ilima had offered to send her a picture but she’d politely refused. It was probably as remarkable as Ilima was making it out to be, but she didn’t particularly have a desire toexperience it.

_Dropped Lillie off on Akala Island today in Heahea City. Directed her to Lana as well. She seems determined, at least._

_Do you think she’ll be_ _okay?_ Acerola had asked him.

_Who knows? It’s up to her now._

And then silence for half a month.

Acerola stared at the newest message and pawed at the screen keyboard. She tried several starts to her response.

 _H_ _ello_ _. What did you need?_ Too neutral.

 _Fuck off._ Perhaps a bit too harsh.

 _H_ _iya_ _! I…_ Stopped that one right there.

Acerola let out a long, exasperated sigh, turning off her phone screen and turning over in her bed. Her cheek pressed against her pillow. Lillie was out on Akala Island now, had been for nearly two weeks. She could have beaten Lana’s Trial already! Or she could...

She could be hurt, or upset, or lonely, or…

Acerola shifted in bed, clutching her duvet to her chest. Lillie… Acerola remembered kissing the girl on the cheek. She had enjoyed that shocked expression on Lillie’s face, the way she had gingerly touched two fingers to that spot. Acerola hadn’t been able to say much.It’s not like there was anythingto say. All she could manage was a pathetic little ‘good luck’.

“I hope you don’t resent me,” Acerola whispered to herself. She closed her eyes, curling up.

The trip back to the hospital had been uneventful. Hau had tried desperately to keep his own spirits up, even as he nursed Poppy’s pokeball in his hands.

“It was a fun week, you know!” Hau said, one arm back behind his head.

“I hope you learned a thing or two,” Acerola had replied. It was neutral, a cautious response. She didn’t know which way to push the conversation.

“Lillie’s really talented! I was surprised.” Hau’s voice had a tinge of… something in it.

“You’re right.”

More minutes of awkward walking. She walked with Ilima’s snorlax’s ball gripped in one hand, as if afraid of losing it.

“It’s a good example of why you need more than one pokemon,” Acerola started. “So that if Poppy loses, you can keep going. Technically that battle was supposed to be a two vs. two match. If you had a second pokemon...”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Hau sighed. “I’ll make sure to catch another one before I attempt the trial again. My grandpa, he… he’ll probably help me find one if I ask.”

“Kahuna Hala’s a good man,” Acerola said. Hau didn’t respond to that.

And so they kept walking through Route Two, the sky turning dark around them. When they reached the bus stop – luckily without running into any wild pokemon – it was already fully night. It was one of the last buses that arrived to pick them up. The driver nodded at them as they climbed aboard the empty vessel.

The two sat near the back. Hau pressed his back against the tall window, slinging his feet up against the back row of blue felt seat cushions. Acerola sat close by, the next row down from him. She pulled her legs up to her chest, hugging her knees.

“She’s a great girl,” Hau finally said. They were already nearing the city. The handful of small outlying buildings had turned to blocks and blocks of shops and houses. They’d need to head downtown to get to the Pokemon Hospital.

“Lillie?”

“Yeah.”

“You like her?” Acerola cocked an eyebrow, looking over the top of the seats to gauge his reactions. Hau withdrew, raising an arm in surprise, a faint red hint running over his cheeks.

“I-I-I, uh, I barely know her!” Hau replied quickly.

“You can like someone you barely know,” Acerola responded. Hau scratched his cheek absently.

“A-A-Anyway, what was the deal with you and Ilima?” Hau quickly changed the subject.

“The deal?”

“Yeah,” Hau was obviously flustered, but Acerola still found herself caught off guard. She’d never expected the boy to pry into anything. “You two were fighting during that battle like it was for real. When you were instructing me, you looked super mad!”

“It was...” Acerola looked away. Her hand went to her dhelmise’s pokeball. “It was stupid. I was mad about something stupid and I wound up hurting both our pokemon because of it.”

“You were mad because he kissed you?”

Acerola gawked at him, unable to immediately respond. _He knew?! So everybody knew?!_ She groaned internally. Her personal problems had been on display for everyone in the house to see. Lillie, Ilima, and even Hau. Completely unprofessional. And being a trial captain was supposed to be her job!

“I was…” Acerola sighed. “Yes. Yes, I was mad at him about that. I was also mad at him about other things as well.”

_I was jealous._

“Sorry. I know it’s not my business,” Hau said. “I was just trying to keep my mind off of things. Poppy’s hurt and I can’t stop thinking about it.”

Acerola watched as the boy fiddled with his pokeball. His only pokemon. Stasis technology was impressive, but it wouldn’t prevent the pokemon from dying forever. It would just give them more time. Snorlax, dhelmise, popplio. All three pokemon could die of their injuries if not properly taken care of.

 _If Poppy died, would you hate her? Do you even have that capacity?_ Acerola mulled the thought over. She thought of Ilima kissing her, at the anger she felt. And yet… _Could I even_ _hate_ _Ilima_ _?_

Acerola thought of the moment when Lillie could have backed off. Her bagon had the upper hand. She could have played the battle safe, given the two pokemon space so that Koa could be on more certain footing. Instead she pressed in, risking the battle. She ordered her bagon to not let up, and this was the result.

Ilima’s teaching had certainly rubbed off on her.

Her eyes snapped open. Acerola grabbed her phone again, turning on the screen. 1:52 AM. It had only been a few minutes. A frustrated growl escaped her lips. At this rate she was never going to get any sleep. She sat up in bed and fumbled at the wall, switching the light on roughly. Instantly her small room lit up a light orange.

Acerola was lucky enough to get a room to herself at the Aether House, probably because her father had been a significant donor to the Foundation while he was still alive. The orphanage here was a loosely run affair, probably because most of the kids were from the Tapu Village. The only survivors of Tapu Bulu’s wrath.

She ran one hand over her bare legs, shocked at the many goosebumps rising along her skin. It got surprisingly cold here, especially when it rained. And oh boy, it had been raining lately. Ever since she’d gotten back from Melemele Island the entire area had been under a constant deluge. She’d heard some of the Aether Foundation employees talking about there being irregular weather patterns.

Acerola pulled on a loose pair of black shorts. It wasn’t a lot, but it’s not she had much protection from the cold in her wardrobe anyway. She rubbed her shoulders and walked to her nightstand.

Five pokeballs.

She lifted Sable’s ball, tossing it absently into the air and catching it, over and over and over. Briefly she wondered if the pokemon could tell if she was doing that – was she disturbing it?

Acerola already knew the answer. A pokeball was a portable stasis field, a digitization of the pokemon in question. Plenty of ethical questions abounded their usage, but that’s why people didn’t go inside pokeballs. Only pokemon.

Some hated it. Some didn’t mind. Sable used to hate it, but Acerola had managed to train that bad habit out of him over time.

She walked out into the hallway. Here, at least, she could hear the howling wind outside. The building shuddered, creaking and groaning. Likely some of the other children would be awake and scared, nervously listening to the roar of the elements outside. When Acerola would visit the orphanage years ago, she would snuggle with some of the younger kids during thunderstorms, helping to calm them down.

“Never thought I’d wind up living here, though.” Acerola pressed a hand absently on one of the many doors. “Hard to think it’s already been a year.”

She would have wanted to live in the old house in Malie City, but she had no legal guardian. Since she was still underage there wasn’t much she could do to argue. Ever since she finished the Island Challenge, she’d lost her biggest excuse to go wherever she wanted.

“At least they give me space here,” Acerola mumbled. She stepped slowly across the wooden floors, down the long hallway. She watched the floor where she stepped. She’d seen too many times some cheeky kid wandering about in the night getting bitten by a wayward centipede. They were common enough out here, but thankfully the rain had been keeping them away.

The common area light was on. It was a big room, with several couches and a large tv with many game consoles hooked up to it. Towards the opposite wall was the kitchen with its pristine white counter-tops and shiny chrome appliances. A familiar man slumped over the table, sloshing a drink around in one hand.

“Drinking alone again, Kai?” Acerola rapped her knuckles against the wall and the young man looked at her. Dark circles under his eyes, his pale complexion made pallid under the fluorescent kitchen light. He smiled thinly at her.

“You know me,” he responded, taking another long sip. It was very obviously alcohol, the amber liquid gleaming in the light.

“One of these days, Jackie or McKenna are gonna come down on you about drinking at work,” Acerola said, sidling into the stool next to him.

“Not on shift tomorrow.” Kai lifted his drink again, taking a sip as if making a point. “Besides, I live here. Where else am I supposed to drink?”

He was a tallish man with scruffy brown hair. When Acerola had first met him years ago, he had been full of energy and enthusiasm. He was constantly playing with the kids, a big smile on his face. Recently, though…

“You’re not wearing your gloves,” he observed. Instinctively, Acerola withdrew her hands. The burn marks she’d sustained from the fight with the wild toucannon were still very visible, even after the injury had healed. They covered both her palms, leaving ugly trenches of rent skin. They hurt sometimes, something doctor had said they might go on a long, long time.

“Yeah,” Acerola pulled her hands behind her back. “I forgot to put them on.”

Kai looked at her for a long moment before turning away. “Looked pretty bad when you came back, what with the bandages and all. Looked like it hurt...” His voice trailed off and the man turned away from her. Acerola absently wrung her hands. Kai had been acting strangely lately.

“You gonna tell me what’s up your butt?” Acerola felt her stomach growl and she stood, walking over to the fridge.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Kai’s voice slurred the words just slightly. He was more drunk than she’d thought. “Nobody would believe me.”

“Ever since you came back from your recall, you’ve been like this.” Acerola turned her attention away from the fridge, leaning against the opposite side of the counter from him. He’d been recalled suddenly from the orphanage to Aether Paradise shortly after Acerola had gotten back from Melemele Island. When he came back...

“Can’t talk about my problem with the kids,” Kai mumbled, taking another long drink.

“I’m one of the kids?” Acerola cocked an eyebrow.

“You’re sixteen, so yeah, you are.” Kai stared at her, his expression suddenly completely serious.

“Come on.” Acerola rolled her eyes.

Kai snickered at her. “You’re smart, yeah. You’re pretty mature for your age. And hell, you’re a damn good trainer from what they tell me. One of the best in Alola.”

“I wouldn’t say that’s...”

“But there’s things out there that we gotta keep from you guys,” Kai sighed, hanging his head. “It’s the responsibility of the adults to keep you kiddos safe from the unpleasant stuff. Our problems included.” Acerola opened her mouth to respond, but he continued, his voice plastered with a bitter anger. “What kind of man complains to a teenager about the shit he’s seen?”

“It’s obviously bugging you,” Acerola complained, and then sighed. “If you won’t tell me, then what about Jackie? Or even McKenna can be sympathetic if you really need it. She’s strict with the others, but with you...”

“Not gonna break them like that...” Kai set the drink down. His head sank into his arms. “This job is their life. Aether Foundation is their purpose. I can’t… I can’t do that...”

For a long while, Kai was silent, his shoulders slowly rising and falling with long, deep breaths that grew more shallow over time. His hands went limp. Acerola watched him all the while, waiting for him to nod off. When it was finally clear that he was out, she grabbed his drink and dumped it in the sink, rinsing out the glass for good measure. Erasing the evidence.

Acerola tiptoed around the living room, careful not to disturb the snoozing Foundation employee. She snuck towards one of the couches, grabbing a blanket, then draped it over the man’s back.

Kai was probably in his early twenties. He didn’t look that old at all, at least normally. Here in the fluorescent light, his skin unhealthily pale, those dark rings under his eyes, he looked ten years older. Acerola sighed, tucking the blanket into place. As quiet as she could manage, she walked to the light switch, shutting off the kitchen light.

Outside the wind and rain buffeted the Aether House, and it creaked and groaned and complained in response. Acerola shivered, feeling the chill against her bare legs. Kai was normally so upbeat and cheery. To see him like this now...

A clattering against the ground, then a bright light shining up from the floor. Acerola peered around the kitchen counter and swore under her breath. Kai’s phone had fallen out of his pocket, its bright screen a glare of white.

She picked it up, quickly checking the glass screen for any cracks. Noticing there were none, she sighed in relief. Briefly her eyes glanced over the screen, a text message open, displaying a conversation. Acerola averted her eyes, but not before she read just enough.

_It’s confirmed. Acerola had contact with the girl._

“What?” Acerola whispered. Her curiosity piqued, she stepped away from Kai, turning down the brightness of the phone. She tiptoed away from the snoozing man and scrolled up in the conversation. The number was listed under a contact name “Boss”. Not very specific.

“Isn’t Jackie your boss?” But the tone of the messages was very obviously not the upbeat and cheery woman. It didn’t read like her at all.

 _Yes, there’s evidence of Ultra Wormhole activity near Route Two. Our contact even stated that a pokemon matching the_ _c_ _osmog’s description was sighted with the girl. It’s possible Acerola is tied up with her in some way._

The response, from Kai, was less clinical: _That doesn’t mean Acerola had anything to do with it. She flew out to Melemele Island at the request of a friend of hers. It’s just random chance._

 _That’s likely, but we can’t take any chances. Monitor Acerola. Make sure she stays at the Aether House. If she’s contacted_ _-_

Lightning flashed and thunder cracked overhead. Acerola let out a tiny squeal as she jumped, the monstrous crash rocking into her ears. Her heart raced as the noise faded and she was suddenly breathing very quickly.

Acerola slipped Kai’s phone back on the table next to the sleeping man’s arm. She clutched her shoulders as she very quickly walked back to her room. Outside, the storm continued to pound at the house.

When she closed her door behind herself, the noise ceased, replaced by the harsh stillness of her silent room. Acerola leaned against one wall and stared up at the ceiling. She couldn’t see it in the dark and her eyes remained unfocused in the blackness.

“What the hell was that?” she mumbled to herself.

Her phone vibrated in her shorts pocket and she jumped, startled. She snatched the phone and turned on the screen. A message from Nanu?

“What do you want?” Acerola swiped the message, displaying the app.

_Tomorrow, leave the Aether House and come to my place. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going. Don’t tell them I told you to do this. This is very important. Be wary of being followed._


	29. Part II: Lillie I

Lillie gripped the fishing pole tight, her hands shaking, a movement just barely perceptible. Hana stood further up on the lapras’s neck, following Lillie’s gaze as she stared into the shifting water. Numerous dark shapes flitting about below the surface, occasionally tearing into the surface of the water as they churned about. She could see the bobber floating along the surface some twenty feet away from her.

The movements of the wishiwashi were growing faster and faster over time, hundreds of dark shapes coalescing slowly. From the shore, Lana was yelling something to her, but her voice was lost over the din of the boiling, bubbling water. Excitedly, Lillie pulled at her loose tank-top, adjusting it for the fifth or sixth time.

The boiling pots of Brooklet Hill were some of the largest in Alola, massive circular pits of water that surged and churned after rainfall, spilling into each other. As Lana had lectured endlessly, numerous water pokemon called this place home, including the Totem of the Water Trial. _The `Ohe`o Gulch is its proper name,_ she would say. _Brooklet Hill_ _is more_ _of_ _a tourist thing._

Lillie breathed in sharply, stabilizing her hands. Hana’s cheeks flashed with electricity, the pokemon’s furrowed brow growing more annoyed with every passing second. Lana’s lapras, a temporary gift for the duration of the trial, tossed its head as if unnerved by the movement around them.

“S-Steady, Hana,” she said to the pichu, stumbling over her words. His expression softened just slightly, but he kept his focus.

The bobber dipped and Lillie gasped. She pulled heavily, the hooked fish struggling in the water. She could just barely make out its shadowy body as it thrashed just under the surface. Around it, the numerous other shapes were spinning chaotically, encircling the caught fish. Lillie leaned back, tugging hard on the fishing pole. She pumped hard, reeling with her left hand. The bobber raced towards her, punctuated by the irregular fighting of the catch.

Five feet away now. She gave it one last mighty pull, leaning far, far back, gritting her teeth as she put all of her weight behind it. The head of the pokemon poked above the water, the small, unhappy face of a wishiwashi staring back at her, its eyes downcast.

Weak and small, but only just for a moment.

The pool of water erupted around her as hundreds more wishiwashi jumped into the air, each converging onto the captive fish. Lillie felt the fishing pole rip out of her hands as the mass of fish condensed together, the vague shape of a much, much larger animal starting to take form. Lana’s lapras roared, tossing its head and shaking its body. Lillie stumbled, catching herself on one of the pokemon’s shell spikes.

“Now, Hana!” she shouted. Hana leaped towards the mass, his entire body coated in a sparking fuzz of energy. He spun in midair, the electricity coalescing into his tail. The pokemon slammed its tail down into the circular blob of wishiwashi, electricity arcing into them. Lillie watched as tens of the pokemon scattered from the main herd, but the main form remained. The fish shape had faded into a formless blob.

“Keep it up!” she yelled. Hana jumped up, looking for another target. It landed a few feet away on another clump of wishiwashi, instantly discharging electricity as it touched down. The platform of fish melted away and Hana stumbled, sinking into the water, a sharp yelp cut off as it vanished.

“Hana!” Lillie cried out in alarm. The pokemon was gone. She watched the school of wishiwashi carefully, looking for any sign of him. A spark of yellow underneath the water. Lillie sucked in a lungful of air. Her heartbeat thrummed heavily in her chest, a sudden fear taking firm hold.

“Wait, Lillie! No!” she heard Lana cry from the shore.No time to think.

Lillie jumped.

The water was cool against her body. Immediately she felt the pull and tug of the wishiwashi. She opened her eyes, staring about herself into the blurry blue. To her right, the school of fish as it struggled to come together again. But where was...

Another flash of yellow. Lillie felt a tingle against her skin and she dove further down.

Oily, slimy bodies of wishiwashi brushed against her skin as they started to reform the school. Lillie pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she swam deeper into the pool towards the faint yellow light. It faded out and Lillie grit her teeth, kicking her legs.

The water grew more violent with every passing second. She focused on Hana, extending a hand out and brushing against the sand and rock floor. Another pulse of yellow light just a few feet away. She kicked towards it. Hana struggled along the pool bed, the poor pokemon having sunk like a stone. Lillie gathered the panicking pichu up, pressing him close to her chest. She curled around, planting her feet against the sand and pushing up.

She was almost to the surface when the wishiwashi hit her.

The entire school impacted her heavily, tossing her effortlessly through the water. Hana struggled in her grip, but Lillie held fast to him. She righted herself, glancing about to make sure she knew where up was. A burst of electricity – directed into the water in front of them – but the shock still ran through Lillie’s body. She stifled a gasp, her chest feeling like fire.

Lillie kicked again, forcing herself to the surface. She broke through, gasping in air heavily. Her hands shot up, thrusting her pichu up above her head. The yellow rat sputtered, coughing, a light and weak sound. Hana shook his head and Lillie smiled up at him. The pokemon frowned back.

A tug against her foot and she was pulled under.

Immediately she was aware of the massive presence. A huge, dark shape pressed against her side as it swam past her. Hana started to spark again, the pokemon sending painful jolts through Lillie as he wriggled in her arms.

Lillie immediately swam back upwards. She could see the now-fully formed wishiwashi school out of the corner of her eyes as it turned, rushing back to her. Lillie broke through the surface again, grabbing wildly at Lana’s lapras.

The pokemon craned its neck down, clamping its teeth down on Lillie’s tanktop and pulling up, carrying her back up onto its shell. The motion nearly tore Lillie’s over-shirt off. Lillie hastily deposited Hana and pulled the tanktop over her head, throwing it onto the lapras’s shell. Now she stood in only a form-fitting black undershirt and black bikini bottoms. Lillie shook her head. This was not the time to be embarrassed.

“Thank you,” Lillie said, patting the lapras’s neck.

The dark shape leaped from the water, the condensed mass of wishiwashi arcing through the air as it jumped up and over Lillie and the lapras. It splashed down on the other side, sending huge ripples throughout the entire pool.

“Hana, please, just like we planned,” Lillie said, giving the pichu a quick scratch behind one of his ears. He shook his head, staring back at her with his typical annoyed expression. “As soon as it opens its mouth…”

Without giving her time to finish her statement, the school ofwishiwashi leaped again, this time directly at her. Lillie shrieked, grabbing hold of one of the lapras’s spines. Hana, already coated in a cloud of electricity, squatted down. The school of wishiwashi opened its massive maw and Lillie saw it – the Waterium Z. Hana leaped forward as the wishiwashi soared directly at Lillie.

The pichu jumped right into the wishiwashi’s open mouth and the creature clamped down. A loud burst and popping noise and the school of fish fell apart, arcs of electricity jumping back and forth among the many now-paralyzed fish. Hana dropped into the water and Lillie jumped right back in again.

This time she grabbed up her pokemon mere moments after he sunk below the surface. She swam back to the surface, pushing aside the twitching and disabled bodies of the many, many fish pokemon. Lillie hit air and breathed in deep, holding Hana up above the water. Triumphantly, the pichu held a small blue crystal to the sky.

The Trial was over.

Lillie coughed and sputtered as the lapras lifted her out of the water again, placing her on its shelled back. She collapsed against one of the spikes, hugging Hana close to her chest. The pokemon coughed and wheezed as her rested against her. Hana clutched the Waterium Z close.

For the first time since the trial had begun, the water was still. Lillie absently looked about for the fishing pole Lana had lent her, but it was nowhere to be seen. She sighed. Hopefully it wouldn’t be expensive to replace.

When they reached the shore, Lana came running up, her mouth wide open in shock and awe. Lillie climbed down slowly off the lapras’s back, her entire body sore. She snatched her soaked tanktop from the pokemon’s back and wrung it out onto the rocky shoreline.

“That was amazing!” the short girl shot her arms out wide, beaming. “When you said you had a plan to take it down, I did not think you would do that! Your pichu was very cool!”

The normally reserved girl reached a hand out to Hana, who was lazily closing his eyes as he lay in Lillie’s arms. As Lana ruffled his fur, the pokemon perked up, staring at her. He emitted a few weak sparks in protest, but then slumped back down again.

“I...I think I’ve worn him out.” Lillie smiled at her pokemon.

“We should head back.” Lana returned her lapras to its ball and peered anxiously over the boiling pots. “Who knows when the Totem will wake up, and it might be angry.”

* * *

“We’re back!” Lana called into the empty doorway. She cocked her head as she waited for a response. “I guess Harper and Sarah already had to go home.”

Lillie kicked off her slippers and adjusted the towel she’d tied around her waist. The Trial House bordered Route Eight, nestled into forested hills at the end of a long, winding path. It was a relatively minimal hiking distance from Brooklet Hill, and a couple shops were further up the road, connectedto the pokemon center. Lana had said that center was the only one on the entire northern edge of Akala Island.

“I’m gonna hop in the shower,” Lillie said, her still-wet feet padding over the tile floors. Lana nodded in affirmation.

“I will get started on dinner. We have to celebrate, after all! Let Koa out so he can stretch his legs.”

Lillie smiled at the Trial Captain, who quickly bounded towards the living room. She pressed against Koa’s ball and the pokemon appeared in the entryway. He lazily blinked, looking about. Lillie rubbed his armored head. Realizing they were at the trial house, Koa wandered off.

Lillie turned down a hallway, running one hand along the wall. This had been her home for the last two weeks, but soon she’d have to move on again. Hana had fallen asleep in her arms on the walk back, the pokemon curled up against her chest.

She flicked the light switch on and closed the door gently behind herself. The bathroom was a humble affair. She could see familiar mold growing at the baseboards. It couldn’t be helped, really. This area was just so humid. She set Hana gently down on the bathroom counter and his eyes gingerly flickered open. The mouse pokemon yawned wide, baring two pairs of sharp canines.

She stared at herself in the mirror and her breath caught.

“Mother would kill me.”

She really would. Lillie tugged at the loose-fitting white tanktop that didn’t quite cover her black bathing suit bottoms. It was modest, but probably not as modest as Mother would have wanted it. She lifted one arm, turning and staring at the long, open sleeves of the tanktop. It belonged to Lana’s dad – not much that Lana owned really fit Lillie – and was quite clearly designed for men, though this one probably for men of smaller stature. She could see the form-fitting black undershirt through the open sleeves of the tanktop, the dark fabric clinging tight to her stomach and sides.

She tried to smile at herself. It wasn’t a bad look, right?

“Mother would definitely kill me.”

 _It’s not like I’m going out all over the place like this. I was swimming._ Even so, she felt a guilty press in the back of her mind. She knew _exactly_ what Lusamine would say if she saw her daughter dressed like this. At least only Lana had been going out to Brooklet Hill with her.

Lillie absently ran a finger over the long, jagged scar on her left thigh. The teeth marks ran along her skin where Koa had bite down and then tore. She remember the dark shape in the night, the pain. She’d nearly died, and here she was adventuring with the pokemon that almost killed her. Lillie looked down to her right foot, flexing the toes. Another large scar that ran between her big toe and second toe, then up and over the top of her foot. The bite circled entirely around, with tooth punctures on the bottom of her foot as well.

Ugly, wretched wounds that would take years to fade, if at all.

She undressed. Hana rummaged around the bathroom counter, absently sniffing at his surroundings. Lillie gathered him up and stepped into the shower, letting the cool water wash over them both.Hana squirmed and squirmed under the spray of the shower at first, but Lillie held fast to him, stopping the pokemon from fleeing.

“Oh no!” Lillie scratched behind his ears. “Not more water!” She giggled and Hana stared at her, his expression utterly unamused. “I’m not about to let you get sick just because you didn’t clean up properly after a battle.”

The pichu wriggled out of her arms and climbed up onto her shoulder, digging his head into her hair. Lillie stepped under the stream of water and she felt Hana recoil. She giggled, reaching over her shoulder and petting the pokemon again.

Hana was never much interested in getting washed. When Lillie finally turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, the pichu dived for Lillie’s hanging towel. Lillie wrapped it around the pokemon, rubbing his fur dry. Lillie laughed as the pokemon buried his way into the white cloth.

Lillie dressed herself in the bathroom – just a simple shirt and pair of jeans – and walked out into the hallway, Hana perched on her shoulder. She could already smell Lana’s cooking: rice and the lingering scent of spam.

“You’re making musubi?” Lillie asked as she walked into the kitchen. Her hair was still somewhat damp and she pulled it back away from her face. Hana sniffed at her, extending one paw to bat at the blonde strands.

“Yes!”

Lana had cooked a pot of rice and was laying it out into a plastic rice press. She pressed down, creating a thin pancake of rice, twice as long as it was wide. Then she gingerly sliced into a loaf of spam – straight from the can, of course, uncooked – and lay it out on top of the rice loaf. With another layer of rice on top of that, Lana removed the rice press and placed the three layers – rice, spam and rice – onto a roll of nori. With quick, practiced hands, Lana snatched up a small shaker of furikake and sprinkled some over the rice. Then, after a quick dab of her hands under some cold water, she rolled the nori over the rice and spam, encircling it entirely.

The result? Lana’s delicious musubi, a delicacy Lillie had grown to crave over the last two weeks.

Lillie sat at the living room table, stretching far backwards, letting her t-shirt ride up her stomach. It’d been a long, long day. A long week, really, even if most of it had been independent training. Koa ran up to her, sniffing at her legs while Hana rushed about the table, nose up in the air.

When Lana walked over carrying a plate full of musubi, both pokemon stood at alert. Koa waited patiently at Lillie’s feet while Hana ran about the table, at one point jumping up to Lillie’s shoulder and then jumping back down again.

“Alright, alright.” Lillie held out a hand to the electric mouse pokemon. “Settle down.”

Lana set down the feast and smiled. Finally, the water trial was over.

* * *

“I know it’s tradition, but it isn’t quite necessary.” Lana’s eyebrows were furrowed with concern. She sat up straight, hands in her lap, her voice formal as it always was. The sun was setting, illuminating the lower half of the trial captain in a hazy orange. Koa and Hana had curled up together on the couch, the pichu leaning its head against the bagon’s chest.

“But there are other trainers out there, right? I didn’t have much of a chance to battle anybody in Heahea City or Paniola Ranch,” Lillie stated. _Because I’m trying to stay away from cities,_ she added in her head.

“Yes, but...” Lana sighed. “I am not Ilima. I will not demand a strict adherence to tradition. I am not used to this week-long introduction regardless.”

“So not all the trial captains do this?”

“Only the first one is supposed to,” Lana stated. “But as the Melemele Trials are cancelled until further notice, the Kahunas have moved up the Akala Trials.” The girl shook her head. “I am sorry I have not been around much the last week. I was not intending to take anyone on for the trial until everything was sorted out, but Ilima insisted.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it!” Lillie tried to reassure her. “Honestly, it was a bit relaxing to not have anyone breathing down my neck. Ilima was… intense.”

Lana smiled at that. “They say he is as fierce as a Kyogre, and I am not joking about that!” She paused, brushing a strand of blue-black hair behind her ear. “I can see why he so highly recommended you. Your pokemon may not be the most powerful, but you use them well.”

“But that’s also why I have to travel Route Eight,” Lillie insisted. “I need to get stronger. I’ll need more pokemon and more experience.”

“Why are you so set on this?” Lana asked.

“Because…” Lillie paused. She glanced over at her two pokemon curled up on the couch.

“There are more trainers in Heahea City than there are along any of the routes. I know tradition dictates that trial goers must walk the sacred paths, but...” Lana rested her head in one hand. “Your situation confused me. You have no trainer license, yet you have pokemon. Ilima took you on as a student and you passed his trial. You have no ride pager, either.”

“I...”

“It is not my place to question you about your origins, so I won’t,” Lana stated, holding up one hand. “However, you should understand that the further you progress along the trials the more people will know your name. If you are running from something or someone, the trials may likely be the way they find you.”

“But I...” Lillie stopped, turning her head down. “I don’t know what else to do.”

Lana smiled at her. “Kiawe and Mallow do not host easy trials, and they will not hold an introductory week of training the way the first trial captain is required to host. You must be fully prepared from the start. Are you sure you want to do this?”

After a long pause, Lillie finally responded. “I don’t have any other choice right now.

* * *

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Lana asked again. Lillie slung the tent over her shoulder, staring back at the trial captain. They stood outside of the pokemon center, the early morning mist just now being chased off by the rising sun.

Lillie nodded. “It’s just a short trip,” she said, trying to sound confident.

“You have your… you have your...” Lana looked her up and down, checking and rechecking what Lillie had just bought. “Your knife, your backpack, spare pokeballs, food, a first-aid kit, a tent...”

Lillie readjusted her new backpack. It was heavy, but not unmanageable. It fit her well – the shop owner, Sam, had apparently been supplying trainers for quite a long time. Lana finally stopped, seemingly satisfied after checking Lillie for the third time.

“I’ll be okay, Lana,” Lillie tried to reassure the trial captain.

“Right, well, uhm,” Lana bit her lip. “There’s three paths along Route Eight to get to Wela Volcano Park. You can follow the coast. There are a couple beaches, but it’s mostly cliffs. Plenty of bird pokemon if you are interested in them. There is also the main road: most of the trainers will be along there. Lastly, there is a mountain path that runs through the forest. Many pokemon live up there, so it is quite dangerous.”

Lillie nodded, listening carefully.

“Stop worrying, Lana.” Lillie smiled at the trial captain. “It’ll be okay. I’ll be fine.”

_Right?_


	30. Part II: Acerola II

Rain still fell in sheets, covering the world around her in a thick gray haze. She shivered, clutching her arms tighter around herself as her boots squelched against the thick muddy road. Acerola kept her head low, trying to avoid letting the cold droplets whip against her cheeks.

The taxi driver had stopped at least a mile before the boundary to Route Seventeen, insisting he wouldn’t take her any further. Acerola had sighed, paying him and letting him drive off back to safety. Nobody wanted to come near the north-western end of the island now.

There were the occasional trainers here looking for rough battles, and even now there were still some locals that managed to live under the constant harassment from Team Skull, some of them owning a few run-down stores and fast-food shops. And then there was Nanu.

The Po Town Police Station, or what was left of it, lay at the edge of a dark cobblestone road. Years of wear left the road covered in mud. Car treads and the beating of many feet tore at the grass, uprooting it in chaotic patterns. Along the road she could see a couple of the still-standing roadside lights, though many had since fallen over or been destroyed.

Further down the mountain, just a mile or so away, she could see over the walls surrounding Po Town. Nanu likely enjoyed the view – he could spy into the town whenever he wanted to. The wall itself wasn’t very large, only surrounding a large mansion and a small collection of the bigger houses. Outside of the wall there were still more houses, though they tended to be much more run down. These buildings stretched up the mountain, almost reaching Nanu’s police station.

Acerola stopped at the large iron sign near the doorway and snickered. The words always amused her. They were faded from years of neglect, the rust having eaten away much of it.

_Po Town Police Station_

_Remember: Good neighbors always talk!_

She banged an arm on the door. Briefly she wondered if anyone inside would even hear her over the rain. The relentless downpour hadn’t let up since Acerola had left the Aether House; if anything it had gotten worse!

No answer. Acerola swore as she clutched her raincoat around herself. It was _freezin_ _g_. She lifted her arm again, slamming it against the door a couple more times – this time harder than before.

Acerola waited, looking about herself. The northwestern edge of Ula`Ula was probably the poorest area in Alola. There weren’t many houses near the police station that still had residents – most had been scared into moving closer to Malie City over the years.

Ever since the Tapu Village had been dragged underground, along with the majority of its people, most economic activity on the island had been centered around Malie City. There wasn’t even a workable road up to Mauna Hokulani’s summit from this side of the island anymore.

The door clicked open and Acerola jumped, startled. A thin, unshaven face poked out from the barely-opened door. Tired, red eyes stared back at her, squinting in suspicion. A long, heavy chain behind the door glittered just above Nanu’s head.

“Were you followed?” Nanu asked her, looking past her towards the road.

“The guys at Aether House think I’m in Malie City visiting my Dad’s books,” Acerola said. “Now can you let me in, I’m freezing my ass off out here.”

“Kids shouldn’t swear,” he said bluntly.

Nanu hesitated, taking another long look around them both. Acerola tapped her foot, staring at Nanu the entire time, her brow furrowed. Raindrops pattered against her jacket all the while. Finally, after at least another minute, Nanu closed the door and undid the chain. When he opened the door again and ushered her in, Acerola sighed heavily in relief.

He closed it quickly behind her, locking the heavy door with at least three different deadbolts – and the chain for good measure. Acerola shrugged off the raincoat, hanging it up near the door. She kicked off her boots, then gathered them up and placed them near the door.

“Mrow!” Fur brushed her leg and Acerola smiled, bending down towards the cat pokemon. One of Nanu’s meowths looked up at her expectantly, then closed its eyes and purred as Acerola scratched behind one of its ears. After a moment the pokemon walked off, jumping up onto one of the counters and disappearing into the dark.

“So what’s up, Uncle?” Acerola asked.

Acerola cast her gaze around the place as she pulled off her socks. The severe building had long since been converted into a barely-livable house. Many old desks had meowth beds on them, the floors near them having named food bowls. At the far end a hammock was strung, colored a deep military green. All of the windows were boarded up, the only light source she could see being a couple of strung-up lightbulbs. Concrete walls and dark corners filled with cobwebs – this was the place Nanu called home, more akin to a cave than a house.

Nanu stalked past her, a familiar odor catching her nose. Acerola narrowed her eyes at the man as he stumbled into the main room.

“Are you drunk?” Acerola’s voice was flat and unamused. Nanu looked back at her.

“I was hungover, so I had a little bit to drink to feel better.” Nanu shrugged. “I wouldn’t say I’m _drunk_.”

Nanu nearly tripped, catching himself at the edge of one of the many old desks. One of his meowths looked at him, sniffing his arm from its perch. Nanu looked back at Acerola, his expression completely serious.

“This is important,” he said and kept moving towards the back.

Acerola followed, gingerly stepping around the trash on the floor. There were empty ramen packages, fast food wrappers, the occasional alcohol bottle. It was worse than the last time she’d come here. Acerola peered over one desk huddled up against the wall, looking for his stack of pornographic magazines.

“I thought I asked you to clean this place up.” Acerola gave up trying to find the magazines and walked towards the back, where Nanu’s computer sat idle on the only maintained surface in the entire building. It was old, easily a model from twenty years ago. She lifted the bottle next to it – more vodka, and nearly empty. It looked new. She set the bottle down as Nanu rifled through one of the bookcases near the back wall.

“One second,” Nanu grumbled. Acerola sat down in his leather desk chair, stretching. The seat was wide, almost big enough for two people. It felt _good_ to finally be out of that stifling raincoat. She patted down her black dress, straightening it. One of the meowths pressed its forehead against her leggings, rubbing its head eagerly against her.

“It’s only been a few months since I was here last,” Acerola said, looking around the shabby interior. She unwrapped a hair tie from around her wrist and tied back her black hair into a ponytail. “And this place looks even more trashed than before.”

“It’s only been a few months since I saw you,” Nanu retorted, “and you look even more like a goth than before. Look at those gloves. Why don’t you dress like a normal teenager?”

“Nobody’s gothic anymore, Uncle.” Acerola sighed. She tugged at the black gloves she was wearing. Nanu still didn’t know what happened. “That was a style from your childhood, not mine.”

“I’m not that young,” he growled, “and you’re still in your childhood.”

Acerola folded her arms. “Not this again,” she protested under her breath. She spoke again, louder: “Why did you call me here anyway? I’m assuming not to lecture me about what I wear. And what was with that ‘don’t tell anyone where you’re going’ bit?”

Nanu didn’t look up from where he was rummaging through a pile of things on the floor. Books, clothes, an odd pokeball here or there. Acerola watched him uncertainly.

“You can’t go back to that orphanage,” Nanu said. “I’m sending you to Akala Island. I need you to talk to Professor Burnet. She’s the wife of Professor Kukui. You know, the guy trying to set up that stupid pokemon league?”

Acerola just stared at him for a moment. He continued. _Pokemon league?_

“There’s this thing I need you to show Burnet. She’s not gonna believe it and neither are you. I’ve got a written note too, but really that doesn’t matter. If you can just get her your phone and have her talk to me, then–”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Acerola stood, the action pushing the desk chair behind herself. “You need to slow down, Uncle.”

“No. You listen to me. I managed to find it after tailing a bunch of Aether Foundation grunts. See, there’s this place up the mountain where _something_ , god knows what, happened. Team Skull’s there too. It’s this little clearing, and these were sprinkled all around the place–”

“Nanu, hold on–”

“This,” Nanu stood quickly, slapping something down on the table. Acerola looked at it. “This is what Burnet needs to see.”

“A… rock?”

She stared at the rock, then up at Nanu. He gazed at her expectantly, as if waiting for an impressed reaction. She could smell the alcohol rolling off his breath. Acerola looked back down at the rock.

Acerola tried really hard to find something special about it. It was gray, had a couple of sharp ridges, and a few dark pits. It was certainly porous. She picked it up. It felt light in her hands. She turned it over, looking underneath it.

_Oh my god, he’s finally losing it._

“It’s pāhoehoe, Uncle.” Acerola set the rock back down. “You know, lava rock?”

“I know! She needs to see it!” Nanu insisted, slamming his hands down on the table.

“You’re drunk, Uncle.” Acerola gently laid the rock back down. Nanu picked it up. “You always get like this when you’ve been drinking. Last time you were going on about Aether Foundation collaborating with Team Skull.”

“I’ve _seen_ them in Po Town,” Nanu insisted. His eyes had adopted that glazed quality.

“I’m sure you have,” Acerola said. She shushed him, walking around the table and gently grabbing his arm. “Why don’t you lay down? I’ll cook some breakfast and clean up a bit, maybe air this place out a bit. You should relax, really–”

“I don’t need to relax,” Nanu insisted. Acerola glared at him and the man said, “I’m serious about this.”

“That’s what worries me.” Acerola led him towards his hammock. Nanu clutched his rock, swaying slightly with every step. “Go back to bed for a few hours. The rock will still be here when you wake up. You can talk to me about all this when you’re lucid, okay?”

“It’s not just a rock–”

“Bed, Uncle.” Acerola pointed. Nanu sighed, slowly lying down, the rock clutched to his chest.

It was the better part of an hour before the man finally dozed off. Acerola had started cleaning up, grabbing a trash bag – the only one she could find already had garbage in it – and getting to work cleaning up the floor of his house. Nanu occasionally talked at her, his words defiant yet garbled. Whatever the rock was, it was important to him. She avoided responding to him and eventually he stopped trying.

When he did finally fall asleep, Acerola felt a rush of relief. Nanu had been getting worse over the last month or so. Sometimes he’d randomly text her incoherently, ranting about Team Skull and Aether Foundation and weird pokemon and all sorts of nonsense.

There were only a couple of other police officers willing to patrol this part of the island. If Nanu, the man supposed to organize them, couldn’t do his job... Acerola gripped the bag she was holding tighter, pushing the thought away. Team Skull was a legitimate problem, but it wasn’t that Nanu’s presence kept them in line, rather...

She remembered the last time she came out here. Nanu got drunk then too, but that time he’d been very quiet, spending much of his time staring at a wall or petting one of his many meowths. When he did speak, it was low but very clear.

“You know, my job isn’t really to round up Team Skull members,” he had said. Acerola had been reading a magazine, one of the many old ones strewn about the place. A lot of it was just pictures of naked women (which she certainly didn’t mind looking at), but the articles were pretty decent, if dated. She turned to look at him. He leaned forward heavily as he sat in the folding metal chair, staring at the wall above her.

“Huh?” Acerola cocked an eyebrow.

“I keep them in line. No way I can actually bring them all in myself, but they’re scared of me. The young ones at least.” Nanu was swaying heavily. “Guzma knows it. They all know it. But they allow me to be here, stalking them, arresting them. It’s the only reason they haven’t run me off.”

“Nanu, you’re drunk,” Acerola dismissed him, turning back to her magazine. This one was easily thirty years old or so. There was an interview from some famous science-fiction writer admitting to having a bisexual experience.

“Truth is, if it wasn’t for me, the Unovan military would have already come down on them.” Nanu’s voice nearly cracked. “I only do this because it keeps those kids safe. Alive. A lot of them are just idiots. They’ve got nowhere to go. No families. Team Skull _is_ their family. If the military marches in there...”

Acerola paused, pushing the memory of that night back. One of his meowth brushed against her, purring, as she picked up another bunch of papers. It would be impossible to clean this entire place in just one morning. She set the now-bulging bag down, looking the place over.

Nanu had set the rock down near his computer at some point, as if passively demanding that she looked at it again. Briefly she wondered where his pokemon were – aside from the meowth, of course. It didn’t look like they were on his belt...

“Sable,” Acerola whispered, drawing his pokeball and pressing the button. The sableye appeared on the desk in front of her. “Go and see if you can find your brother.”

The pokemon darted into the shadows, blending in with the darkness silently. Sable had been a gift from Nanu shortly after she started her island challenge, the brother of one of the pokemon he was raising, or so he had thought.

Acerola hefted the bag of trash and walked towards the front door. Her bare foot stepped on an empty ramen bowl, cracking the styrofoam. She swore, lifting her foot up. There was still liquid in it and it stuck to the bottom of her foot.

“Nanu,” Acerola mumbled to herself, “why do you do this to yourself?”

She spend the rest of the morning sorting through the trash in Nanu’s house, finding bags where she could to throw things away. By the time noon rolled around, she’d amassed at least six or seven, each one full to the brim. Though the place wasn’t quite perfect, Nanu’s house had been vastly improved.

The dumpster was around the back of the building and Acerola didn’t exactly relish the idea of walking back out in the rain, so she piled the bags near the door. When she left she’d have to take them out again.

Then she got to work on some food. She cleared off the stove and tried to salvage what she could from the fridge. The eggs were a _little_ suspicious, but probably usable. There were some canned vegetables she could use too, and lots and lots of ketchup. Enough for omelettes, perhaps. She searched about for a frying pan. When she finally did find one she made sure to clean it thoroughly before using.

By this time Nanu had gotten up and was rummaging about his place. Every so often he would look up at her in disbelief, complaining about how he couldn’t find anything anymore.

“That’s your fault for not taking care of this place.” Acerola shooed away one of the meowths that had jumped on the counter. She poured half a bowl of whisked eggs in above the frying vegetables. “I put all your magazines by your hammock, and the rock–”

“You’re too comfortable here,” Nanu grumbled, walking up to her. His eyes were red and he gripped his head like it hurt. The man brushed past her, opening the freezer and pulling out a chilled bottle of whiskey.

“Uh-uh, no.” Acerola grabbed the alcohol, setting it down on the counter. “When was the last time you _didn’t_ drink?”

“I didn’t call you here so you can lecture me.” Nanu snatched the bottle back. His expression hadn’t changed much, but Acerola could see a tinge of annoyance in him. “You shouldn’t be wasting your time cooking a meal and messing around. You need to get that rock to Burnet.”

Acerola hung her head. He certainly seemed more sober now than a few hours before, but it hadn’t made him make any more sense. She pushed at the omelette she was making, flipping it over with the turn of her spatula.

“Alright,” she finally said. “I’ll take it to her on one condition.”

“And what’s that?” Nanu was unscrewing the cap to the bottle of alcohol.

“That you stop drinking when I’m here,” Acerola snipped, swiping the bottle out of his hands and setting it back on the table. Nanu furrowed his eyebrows at her but didn’t respond. Instead he shrugged mightily and stuck his hands in his pockets, walking off.

When the omelettes were done – Acerola was quite proud of how they came out, despite the lack of ingredients – she grabbed some dubiously clean plates and brought the food over to Nanu. He was sitting back at his computer, rubbing the head of a meowth curled up on his lap.

“Thanks, Ace,” Nanu said when she set the food down in front of him. “There’s a convenience store a little further down the coast that I’ve been eating out of for the past several weeks now. Don’t have too much time for cooking.”

“You had time to lounge around the house all day with me.” Acerola snickered.

“Not much for me to do right now. Team Skull’s gone silent. They’re all up on that fucking mountain now.”

Acerola squeezed into the leather chair next to Nanu, taking up what tiny amount of room there was left. The man started to protest as his meowth leaped off, but didn’t wind up saying anything. Acerola set the plate down on her lap and dug into it with a fork. Nanu started eating his omelette slowly, leaning forward in the cramped desk chair while Acerola leaned back.

She could see Sable darting around in the shadows on the other side of the building. A second dark shape joined him – another sableye, this one closer to black in coloring than purple. Sable must have found Nanu’s pokeballs. She smirked at them as the two pokemon wrestled, making very little sound, their jeweled eyes glittering in the dark.

“I’m not gonna be able to have many more days like this,” Nanu said, setting down his fork. “Just relaxing and sitting around. Shoudn’t have done it today anyway.”

“That’s what you get when you’re hungover,” Acerola snarked. “How are you supposed to work if you’re falling over? What if dispatch called you?”

“I’m drinking now because soon I won’t be able to,” Nanu said. “Soon I’m gonna be swamped with work.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Don’t worry about it, Ace,” Nanu said. “Just worry about what I tell you to do. You saw Ilima when you were on Melemele Island, right?”

Acerola opened her mouth, surprised at the change in conversation topic. “Yeah. Yeah, I did.”

“How’s he doing?”

“Good, I guess. It was kind’ve a stressful trip.”

“You two on good terms?”

“I... don’t know.” Acerola finished up the last of her omelette and set the plate down on Nanu’s desk. He stacked his on top of hers. Nanu had finished it pretty quick – Acerola felt a beam of pride for that.

“You know, your dad...” Nanu started. Acerola elbowed him.

“You’re all over the place today,” she said as she ribbed him.

“Your dad told me to protect you,” Nanu started. There was an odd tone in his voice. “And as... complicated of a person as he was, I fully intend to keep that promise. I didn’t choose to be a Kahuna. I didn’t choose to have to live this life, but I did choose to listen to your father. So you need to listen to me, Ace.”

“Huh?”

Nanu turned to her. She could see the long, dark circles under his eyes, how his thin hair had been steadily receding. There were more wrinkles on his face now, stress lines that ran deep into his skin. Nanu wasn’t an old man, but every year he looked more and more like it.

“Do you have your armband still?” Nanu asked her. “The family crest.”

“It’s my father’s, not mine.”

“Take it with you when you leave to see Burnet,” Nanu stated. “Take your pokemon too. Don’t go back to Aether House. Stay away from the Aether Foundation.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You don’t have to. The bells are ringing throughout the mountains again, Ace,” Nanu said. “And I need you to be far, far away when the Tapu shows its face again. Team Skull is doing something on that mountain, and if I can’t stop it...”

A thousand questions ran through her mind, but she couldn’t ask a single one of them. Acerola nodded at the man, at the closest person she’d ever had to a father. The man who was there when her real father had failed her. Even if she couldn’t understand what he wanted, even if he wouldn’t tell her what was wrong, she’d do as he asked.


	31. Part II: Lillie II

****“Uhm, sir?”

Lillie rocked on her heels, hands firmly clasped behind her back. The enormous man barely so much as moved to acknowledge her. He sat still on the large, flat white rock, eyes half-closed. One hand casually held a pokeball, his arm draping over an uplifted leg. Lounging this luxuriously, Lillie might have mistake the solid stone seat for the softest of beds. The man himself was old – very old – with long, disheveled gray hair, with much of his face buried in unkempt facial hair. He was shirtless, his skin sagging over a large beer belly, the texture dark and leathery. His board shorts were a deep gray, old and well-worn, and his slippers hung lazily over his feet.

 _Did he look at me?_ Lillie bit her lip, not sure what to do. _Should I try to get his attention again?_

“Uhm...” Lillie half-turned to the side, leaning back to try and get a better view of the long, narrow road. Nobody else in sight. “Sir?” Her voice was quiet. Maybe she wasn’t being loud enough. Lillie steeled herself, breathing in. She opened her mouth, readying herself.

“Excuse–”

“AH!?” The man snapped to attention, heavy eyebrows rising as the man opened red, red eyes. He stared at her, his gaze barely even visible under his thick gray eyebrows. After a moment he finally seemed to notice Lillie, just barely tilting his head to look at her. “Whatchu wan’, sistah?”

“Oh, hi, uh,” Lillie fidgeted, glancing about herself, “I was wondering if, uh, if you could–”

“Wut?” His voice was like grinding gravel. “Why you keiki stay talkin’ to me, ah?”

“Uhm… keiki?” Lillie furrowed her eyebrows. She’d heard of this before! This was pidgin! “I was hoping to, ah, get some… some directions?” Lillie intoned the statement like a question, her voice raising nearly an octave. The man stared back at her.

When he responded, his cheeks wobbled and she could see a row of irregular teeth. “Why one haole girl like you talkin’ to me?”

“Directions,” Lillie said quickly. “I was hoping you could give me directions. I–”

A hand clamped down on Lillie’s shoulder and she jumped nearly right out of her sneakers. She spun, backing away from the smiling man who had appeared next to her.

“Woah, woah!” The man smiled wide, the many dimples in his face deepening. He was young and tall, with notably Alolan features. “Careful there, haole girl! I just want to help you out. This old faka ain’t gonna be much use to you.”

His voice was notably less accented than the sitting old man, with only a smattering of local words sprinkled into what he said. Lillie clutched both her hands to her chest, watching the man carefully, cautiously.

“Wat, faka?” The old man spat his words, glaring at the newcomer. “You geev me stink eye, ah? You wan lickins?”

“Hey, don’t worry about him,” the new man said to Lillie.

The man gently laid a hand on Lillie’s upper back, guiding her away from the shouting old man. The old man hadn’t bothered to move from his perch on the rock, simply yelling as they walked further away. Lillie was keenly aware of the man touching her – she wanted to shy away, to retreat, but found herself unable. She swallowed when the man stopped a short distance away. The old man fell silent.

“Don’t mind him,” the young man said. “All he ever does is sit there. Everyone around here just leaves him alone.”

“I… see.” Lillie backed away from him, escaping his grasp. He stepped in closer and Lillie breathed in sharply.

“You’re new around here, right?” He asked. Lillie didn’t respond to that. “I can tell. Most of the people are the same as always and there’s not a lot of pretty girls like you.”

“I-I’m just trying to–” Lillie stumbled over her words.

“Relax, haole girl.” The man’s smile was warm, if unusually constant. “You’re a trainer, right? Wanna battle?”

“A… battle?” Lillie instinctively reached for her belt, to Koa’s ball.

“Yeah,” the man grabbed a pokeball from his own belt, spinning it about on one finger. “I saw you had a Heavy Ball and a regular pokeball and I got curious. C’mon, let me see what you’ve got!”

“I-I, uh,” Lillie grit her teeth. This is exactly why she came out here. She nodded. “A-Alright. I’ll battle you.”

“’Tanks ah, sistah,” the man said. Lillie tilted her head at that. _Was he thanking me?_ “I’m Mike! I’ve been a trainer for a few years now, so be ready!”

The two trainers gave each other distance – Ilima had told her that about fifty to a hundred feet apart was acceptable, depending on the size and ferocity of the pokemon involved. Mike stood opposite Lillie, feet spread to shoulder width as he held out one arm. His pokeball gleamed in the light, the reflection of the asphalt road shining along its bottom.

The old man on the rock yelled a garbled insult at Mike. Lillie struggled to make sense of the words, but the only one she recognized was māhū, a pejorative term. Mike turned towards the old man, anger flashing across his face.

“Ho, unko, shut yo mout’,” Mike shot at the man, “afor I slap you.”

Another garbled response and the old man turned away from him, staring up the mountain. Lillie tugged at the front of her t-shirt, just now noticing how _hot_ it was today. She dug through her backpack for Kukui’s white baseball cap and put it on, appreciating the small bit of shade it gave her. Lillie watched Mike as he tossed one of his pokeballs – it snapped open, the form of small bird appearing on the asphalt.

“A trumbeak,” Lillie muttered to herself. _I’ve had enough of those birds._ She grabbed Hana’s pokeball and pressed its central button. It snapped open in her hands and Hana materialized on the ground in front of her.

The pokemon looked about himself for a moment before staring down at his feet. The mouse pokemon shrieked, hopping from one foot to another. After a moment the pokemon darted off the road towards the grass, sighing in relief when he stopped. Hana shot a glare back at Lillie.

“Sorry!” she said to her pokemon. “I didn’t think that the asphalt would be hot.”

“Haole girl!” Mike called to her. “You ready?”

Lillie spun back to her opponent and nodded, hesitantly at first, but then more certainly. Mike pointed up in the air and the trumbeak rose, beating its wings. Lillie waited, trying to remember what she could about the pokemon.

 _Trumbeak can fire seeds like a toucannon, but not nearly as powerfully or dangerously._ _It’s a flier, which means the biggest issue will be even hitting it._

“Dodge as much as you can, Hana,” Lillie advised. The pokemon looked at her, then back at the trumbeak.

 _Pokemon do not understand human speech._ She heard Kukui’s voice in her head, a memory from over a month before. _They rely on context and patterns. Some psychic types are able to read your intentions and emotions, and the more social a pokemon is by nature, the easier it will be to communicate._

“Above all, pokemon are rational,” Lillie whispered to herself. She watched Mike. His expression hadn’t changed at all since Lillie had let out her pichu, despite the fact that flying pokemon were easily countered by electrical pokemon.

“Go, Drummer!” Mike shouted. The trumbeak soared in the air, turning direction suddenly towards Hana. It opened its mouth, a barrage of seeds shooting for Hana. The pokemon fell to all fours, scampering through the grass as it dodged. The seeds sprouted puffs of dirt and grass on impact – fairly wimpy compared to the might of the toucannon.

“Hana isn’t that great at discharging electricity at a distance yet,” Lillie mumbled to herself. She gestured to a nearby bush – just a light swaying of the hand – as Hana continued to dodge in the grass. The pichu noticed the signal, ducking behind the leafy bush. The trumbeak slowed, flapping its wings as it descended to the ground.

“Hey, isn’t your pokemon gonna fight?” Mike called out.

Lillie ignored him. “He’ll need direct contact, or contact through a medium...”

The trumbeak tilted its head, staring into the cluster of bushes to the side of the road. Occasionally it would open its mouth and then close it again, looking for Hana. Mike was tapping his foot now, his ever-present smile starting to fall just a bit. The trumbeak nudged a bit closer to where Hana lay hiding, its beady blue eyes watching carefully.

Hana burst from cover, mouth open wide and displaying his fangs. The trumbeak startled backwards. It squawked and spread its feathers wideas Hana jumped for him. The pichu struck the trumbeak square in its neck, biting into the pokemon. Sparks erupted from the collision point and the triumbeak shook mightily. It struggled with its foot as it tried to force Hana off.

Hana screeched as the trumbeak’s talons dug into his ear. It slashed deep, blood spraying on the ground. Hana kept his grip, if anything biting harder. The pokemon continued to flap its wings as blood ran down the front of its body, its wail loud and panicked.

“Finish it off, Hana!” Lillie called. Hana’s body glowed with electricity. The trumbeak flailed and slammed into the ground. Its struggling ceased and Hana let go, gingerly backing away. Blood dripped down the pokemon’s mouth and chest. Two long, red lines ran down its left ear where the skin had been torn into three pieces.

“Da fuck,” Mike’s voice was barely audible from this distance. He raised an arm and returned his trumbeak to its ball. His smile was gone. “What da fuck was that, haole? You tryin’ to kill my pokemon?”

“Huh?” Lillie looked at him. “N-No, of course not.”

She glanced down at Hana. He was a mess, his fur matted with the blood. She returned him to his ball, a tinge of worry running through her. She grabbed the black ball at her belt – Koa’s ball – and released him, looking up and expecting to see Mike’s next choice in pokemon.

Instead she saw Mike stalking over to her, his expression furious.

“What da fuck!?” He gestured to the blood on the asphalt. “What the fuck is your problem?”

Lillie looked at him for a moment, uncomprehending. A panicked flutter as Lillie struggled to think of what to do. “I’m sorry! I-I’m not sure… what you...”

“Doesn’t matter what you’re trying to do if you can’t control your pokemon!” Mike shouted at her. To their side, Koa lowered his head, emitting a long, low growl. The man backed away, staring at the two-foot tall dragon. “And look at that thing! Don’t your pokemon have any discipline?”

“D-Discipline?” Lillie looked at him. “What do you mean? B-Both Hana and Koa listen to me.”

“Do they? Then why was your pichu so fuckin’ crazy against my trumbeak?” Mike’s face was red with anger. Every word was a shout. The old man on the rock was sitting up straight, watching them both with lazy eyes.

“B-Because...” Lillie looked away.

“Fakin’ sore loser, brah,” the old man on the rock shouted, his big belly heaving with monstrous, belching laughs. Mike turned back to him.

“You shut the fuck up!” Mike turned to Lillie again and Koa growled louder, stepping towards him. The man noticed and backed away another step. “Huh? Look at what your fucking... _thing_ is doing now! Aren’t you gonna call him off?”

“I-I...” Lillie looked to Koa, then back to Mike. “I don’t...”

“Why the hell would you challenge someone to a battle if you can’t even control your pokemon?”

“Y-You challenged me...” Lillie said, her voice tapering off towards the end of her sentence. “And I… I can control–”

“Honestly, it’s stupid _fucking_ haoles like you that–” The man’s voice cut off abruptly, his face contorting wildly as he screamed. Lillie backed away, not comprehending initially what was happening. Then she saw Koa, his teeth sunk deep into the man’s calf. Koa shook his head, tearing at the bite holes as the man screeched even louder. The old man on the rock was bolt upright now, his face elongating as he erupted in a massive belly laugh, each heavy note ringing out into the air and beating against Lillie.

“Koa!” Lillie shouted. The pokemon turned its gaze to her as the man bent over, arms feebly batting at the dragon in an unsuccessful attempt to pull Koa off of him. “Release him!”

Koa narrowed its eyes at her but complied, loosening his jaw. Mike screamed again, falling over heavily. He scrambled backwards, eyes wide with terror. Blood dripped from the bite wound on his leg, staining the pavement.

“Wh-wh-what da fuck?” Mike stammered, looking from Lillie to Koa and back. “Wh-what da fuck is y-your problem?”

“I–” Lillie started. She bit her lip, raising her hands uselessly. “Should… should I call an ambulance for you?”

“J-Just get the fuck away from me!”

Lillie watched as the man scrambled backwards. Eventually he managed to drag himself to his feet, hopping off lamely on one foot. As he passed the old man on the rock, the man cackled loudly, pointing at Mike, his voice deep and hard. After a moment he turned to Lillie, a crazed smile on his ancient face.

“You one loco faka, sistah,” the old man heckled, pointing a heavy sausage finger at her. “One loco faka.”

Lillie back away, shaking her head. After a moment she turned sharply, walking briskly down the road in the opposite direction. Koa followed close behind, licking deep red blood off his scaled lips.

* * *

“I don’t understand,” Lillie mumbled to herself. She walked with her hands in her hoodie’s pocket – it had started to rain an hour or so after she’d started on the forest trail. “He said he’d been a trainer for years. Wouldn’t he be used to that sort of thing? That’s how pokemon battles are.”

She ran Koa’s pokeball through her hand. He had _bit_ that trainer. There was no way that could be allowed! Lillie shook her head, suddenly feeling very, very ill at ease.

 _Should I go back to Lana’s Trial House? No. She might not even be there. She’s probably back with her family in Konikoni City now._ _Should I go to the police?_

That obviously wasn’t an option.

_Are the police going to come after me?_

Mother had always said that pokemon battles were brutish and uncivilized. Lillie hadn’t really watched a battle before Ilima’s Trial. Sure, there was the one time when Professor Kukui was watching the Indigo League finals on TV with his buddies, but Ilima said that other regions were very strict and controlled. When Acerola and Ilima battled, they hadn’t held back against each other.

 _Was I doing something wrong? Am I teaching my pokemon wrong?_ Lillie shook her head, pushing the thought back. A fern brushed against her leg and she batted it away. The forest was growing thicker as the trail wound up the mountain. Dark, heavy clouds loomed and gentle flickers of rain drifted over her.

 _Regardless, Koa can’t be allowed to hurt people. I’ll have to punish him._ Lillie paused, looking about herself. _How do I punish him,_ _though_ _?_

The trail had gotten awfully thin. _Should I have stayed on the road?_ _No, Mike must have called the police on me._ _I’ll have to camp out here tonight._

Odd. The thought gave her pause. Lillie shuddered as the rain pressed against her, gentle yet always present, soaking through her thin white jacket. She should have bought a real raincoat, but Lana had assured her this part of the island didn’t see much rain.

“This is too much,” Lillie said quietly. “I don’t know what to do.”

She continued hiking for a while and the rain refused to relent, though neither did it grow heavier. Her jeans began to chafe against her legs – despite the rain she was really beginning to regret not wearing shorts. Lillie thought about that for a moment. Most of the clothes that she’d brought with from Lana’s house made her look like a boy.

“Probably better that way,” Lillie grunted as she climbed up over a particularly tall rock. The forest around her was filled with the noises of distant pokemon, but so far she hadn’t seen a single one. She shivered and squinted into the forest. It was getting harder to see.

_Maybe I should set up my tent…_

She deviated off the hiking trail, moving a good hundred feet or so from the path. When she was confident she wouldn’t be seen from the trail itself – not that she’d even seen a single person along it – she pulled off her heavy backpack, setting it against a tree and sighing heavily in relief.

Pulling off the tent from the top of the backpack, she stared at the contraption in confusion. The store owner had referred to it as a “suspension tent”, saying it was much more flexible and usable than a standard tent – and more comfortable. Lillie had just gone along with his suggestion – it’s not like she’d done this before anyway.

She opened the sack and stared at the rolled up polyester sheets and the bundle of flat tethers. Lillie grabbed up the paper instructions, squinting at them in the quickly fading light.

“I hope I have enough time to build this thing...” she said quietly to herself. She released Koa from his ball and the pokemon stretched. She’d have to wait until tomorrow to let out Hana so she could look at his injuries. Lana had been gracious enough to supply her with pokemon medicine, but she’d have to figure out how to use _that_ too.

The tent was triangular in shape. The survival shop owner had explained to her it was meant to be tethered to three trees – there were trees in abundance around her, so that wouldn’t be an issue – and that it was like a hammock except with three points of contact. Lillie fiddled with the rope, walking to a particularly thick tree nearby and wrapping a flat tether against one of the low-hanging, sturdy branches.

The tethers were supposed to connect with the triangular tent fabric through metal rings at each corner, with adjustable clamps to hold the lines in place. Lillie held up the clamp, the tether, and the ringed edge of the tent base and sighed, hanging her head.

“This is all a bit much...”

Once she’d picked her three anchoring points and connected the tether with the metal rings, the fabric lay along the ground, its surface made rough by the rocks. It wasn’t a large tent, but it would be just big enough for her and her things. Lillie examined the clamp – there was a cranking mechanism built in that was supposed to wrap up the spare tether and increase tension. She pulled at it and, noting how it worked relatively easily, kept pulling at each edge in turn to elevate the tent.

By this time she was having a hard time seeing what she was doing. The tent itself was a blue mesh, the tethers a bright orange, but they were starting to look very gray in this lighting. Lillie pulled out her flashlight – another item Lana had insisted was a necessity – and mounted it against a tree branch so that it pointed roughly over the tent she was building.

The noise around her in the forest had increased – the constant buzz of crickets pushed against her ears. There weren’t as many froakie around here, but she could still hear their unique two-note call occasionally. Lillie looked about herself, wondering if there were any pokemon hiding out in the dark. Koa patrolled around the tent. When Lillie had finally cranked the levers enough to pull the tent completely off the ground, Koa started walking around underneath the tent, teeth bared as he wandered.

Lillie looked at the large, triangular construction. The rain still pattered down lightly, but was probably a little less obvious than it had been an hour before. The blue mesh glowed lightly under the harsh white of the flashlight, and she could see through the transparent material. For now, all she had was a flat triangle of material suspended in the air at three points. Now she had to build the top.

The shop owner had explained that on clear nights, the top would be unnecessary. She could sleep open to the elements. Tonight, though, that was out of the question. Lillie pulled the second layer of fabric out, flapping it open across what she’d already built. It was a simple matter to fasten it to the corners and edges of the triangular base, then run the collapsible metal rods through to create an elevated top.

By the time she was done, it was completely dark. Lillie brushed sweat away from her brow and smiled, looking at the completed suspension tent, an unexpected feeling of satisfaction running through her.

_I built that._

She unzipped the side flap and tossed her backpack inside, then picked up Koa and set him down in the tent. Lastly, she pulled the flashlight from its perch and flicked it off, crawling inside and zipping the tent shut.

The base was somewhat elastic, bending just a bit as she crawled on her hands and knees. Lillie looked at the rocks two feet or so below the bottom of the transparent base, grateful she wouldn’t have to sleep on those.

Rain gently sprinkled against the roof of her tent and Lillie briefly checked for any leaks. Satisfied that there were none, she kicked off her sneakers, setting them against one corner behind her backpack. She zipped up the tent and lay back along the tent base, feeling the dip as the elastic material conformed to her weight. To her side, Koa was plodding about, sniffing at the interior of the tent.

She pulled off her hoodie, t-shirt and pants, draping them over her backpack so they could dry just a bit. She blushed, realizing she was now sitting in a tent out in the woods in her underwear, so she rifled through her backpack, pulling out a loose tanktop and a pair of white shorts, putting them on. It’s not like anyone was going to see her, but she still needed to have some decency. She smiled as she gently set Kukui’s white baseball hat atop the small pile of clothes.

_I’m camping._

She remembered laying out on the grass at Aether Foundation as a child, staring up at the stars with Gladion or Father or… But this wasn’t the same. She was miles from any houses. While there were probably other trainers camping out in these woods, she hadn’t seen a single one of them. The constant sounds of the forest beat into her.

Lillie closed her eyes, relaxing her body. It had been a long day. Koa curled up next to her, his cool, scaled skin a welcome touch in the muggy air. She felt herself begin to unwind and she stretched, letting a soft, satisfied breath of air.

She closed her eyes, listening to the gentle songs of the forest. There were pokemon on the conservatory on Aether Paradise and she’d often listen to them, but this was different. The calls here were monolithic, carrying a weight that the conservatory never had.

 _Gladion really liked working with some of the scientists there…_ Lillie opened her eyes. It had been a long time since she’d thought about him. Her sweet older brother, who abandoned her and ran the first moment that he could.

 _He was suffering just like I was,_ _but..._

She remembered the dreams she used to have, back when she first started living with Professor Kukui. Dreams that she was back on Aether Paradise, back in those cells. Lillie felt her heart start to race as she recalled it. Lillie shook her head, trying to push the thoughts back.

 _I’m not there anymore. I’m free_ _now._

Lillie closed her eyes again, struggling to think of something happy. Nebby’s pokeball was firmly buried in her backpack! Even if he wasn’t moving or interacting with her, at least he was alive. The pokemon had been firmly unresponsive ever since she found him again. His body, though…

_Did he evolve?_

Professor Kukui had been unable to get a reading off of Nebby when he used his pokedex, which meant he was a new species not yet documented. He had said something about Mohn and an old research paper that described a pokemon that sounded similar – at the mention of Father’s name, Lillie had gone silent, trying hard not to react.

Ilima had been somewhat surprised when Lillie showed Nebby to him, even more so when the pokemon allowed itself to be caught with a single pokeball. There was no indication whether Nebby was even conscious of those around him. Occasionally Lillie had let him out while staying at Lana’s Trial House, watching as the pokemon floated completely still.

_I wonder what Acerola would think of him._

A loud shriek split the night and Lillie’s eyes snapped open. Koa jumped to his feet and stared through the transparent mesh. Lillie turned and followed the pokemon’s gaze. The forest was dark around her. The crickets and froakie went silent.

The cracking of a stem in the forest, then another. Lillie held her breath. She could hear the low, near-silent rumble of Koa’s growling. Another crack of a foot against the earth. Lillie reached one hand out to Koa, wrapping around his head and pulling him close to her. The pokemon went quiet.

Another crack and Lillie could see a shape in the woods. Wide shoulders easily four feet across. A frame that towered in the dark. It had to have been seven feet tall. Lillie felt her heart ramming in her chest, thrumming in her ears. She held her breath, the sprout of fear stopping her from even opening her mouth.

The creature stepped towards the tent, its face finally breaking through the tree line. A comically round face with fur sticking every which way. It continued to step towards her. Lillie close her hand gripping Koa tight. Lillie dug her head into Koa’s neck, closing her eyes.

The massive presence moved about in front of her, its breathing heavy and loud. After a while Lillie turned her head back again, watching as the _thing_ sniffed at her tent. It turned, walking to one of the trees the tent was suspended from. It pawed at the tether, causing the entire structure to wobble lightly.

Lillie covered her mouth with her hand, pain blooming in her chest. She squinted, staring at the thing as it dragged one fat finger over the tether line. Tears rimmed her eyes and her drummed heartbeat so loud that it drowned out any other noise.

After a long moment the creature turned away, walking back into the forest, its massive shadow disappearing into the trees. Lillie waited until the sound of its footsteps faded away and she opened her mouth, breathing in deep. The pain in chest ceased, replaced instead by coughs that wracked her body. She twisted herself into the fetal position, clutching Koa tight and struggling to contain the spasms.

Eventually she calmed the coughing. Lillie blinked away tears as the suppressed coughs beat against the back of her throat. She breathed in again, trying to still her beating heart. Whatever the _thing_ was, it was gone now. Lillie’s mind was still racing. It had to have been a pokemon – nobody would be that big. Were there pokemon that big around here?

Route Eight. Route Eight. Lillie closed her eyes, struggling to remember what she knew about the pokemon in this area. There were pikipek, rattata, trumbeak, salandit, stufful…

_Stufful evolves into..._

Koa bolted upright, opening his mouth and yelping suddenly. Lillie looked at him, confused, but only just for a moment.

The massive paw ripped through the top of the tent, the rush of air passing over Lillie’s face. She saw as if in slow motion as the claws raked through the air. The fabric gave easily under the tearing of four-inch claws. A hole opened in the tent fabric and Lillie shrieked as she was dumped onto the ground.

Koa hissed and spat as he fell, mouth opening wide. Lillie landed heavily on her back, Koa on top of her. She looked up as the gigantic creature towered over her, its mouth opening wide. Shiny white fangs glittered in the dark. Its paw reached for the sky.

Lillie rolled quickly, grabbing Koa in her arms as its foot stomped down at her. She ducked under the tent and pushed her way through to the other side. Behind her she heard the creature slashing at the fabric of her tent, but Lillie didn’t turn back to look. She took off into the trees, sprinting away.

_A bewear! A bewear, bewear, bewear!_

Wild panic rushed through her, and she opened her eyes wide as she barreled through the forest. Her feet caught on roots and her shoulders slammed into trunks but she didn’t even begin to feel them. Koa was heavy under one arm but she kept a firm grip, ignoring the ache growing in her shoulder.

Crashing and thunder thrashed about in the woods behind her.

A sharp raking against her back and Lillie screamed, pain erupting along her back. She stumbled through the tree line. Somehow she was back on the hiking trail. She turned and the claws reached for her again. She could see the creature’s pink head through the trunks. Unfeeling black eyes stared back at her.

“Sissy!” shouted a feminine voice in the dark, followed by a burst of fire and a foul stench. Lillie turned suddenly to the high-pitched voice. A panicked face. Outstretched arms grabbed at Lillie’s wrist. “Quick! Follow me!”

Lillie braved another look back over her shoulder. Koa was running after her. Behind him she saw the glittering black scales of a chest-height reptilian pokemon as it spewed fire at the bear pokemon. The massive wild pokemon backed away, batting at the flames on its fur. Lillie and the stranger took off into the dark, the bewear roaring at the night.


	32. Part II: Lillie III

“Isn’t it beautiful, Lillie?”

Mother’s slim hand pressed against the blue-tinted glass and her painted nails seemed to glow a brighter yellow than before. Lillie watched her mother with practiced awe as she slowly arced her fingers, a slight movement that was granted a distinct elegance. She kept her nails clipped short, as long nails were garish and unseemly. Lillie, naturally, emulated that.

“Lillie?”

“Y-Yes, Mother!” she piped up frantically.

“Pay attention when I speak.” Her mother’s voice like steel. Lillie nodded. “Don’t nod. Respond.”

“Yes, Mother!” Lillie put emphasis into it, gripping her tiny fists into balls.

Lusamine motioned towards the glass and Lillie turned back to look at it. Ten polygonal, regular arms outstretched from a crystalline center, its purple skin shining like a massive amethyst. It sat motionless in the center of the ice tank

“It takes a lot of effort to freeze this much water and make it perfectly clear,” Mother said, her voice as smooth as the silks she wore. “The impurities in the water had to be forced out in a vacuum chamber _while_ the pokemon was comatose within. We also needed to engineer special paralytic chemical agents that would work on a starmie.”

“So it isn’t dead?”

“No, no, of course it’s dead now. No living pokemon could be so still,” mother replied, her voice lightly chiding. “They’re better this way.” A brief pause. “In truth, out in the wild, starmie can grow to brutish proportions, with uneven arm lengths and bulbous and slanted central gems. We went through hundreds of pokemon to find a nearly perfect specimen such as this.”

“Nearly perfect?” Lillie wondered aloud.

“Nothing in this world is perfect, but with enough force of will you can carve out something close.” Lusamine gestured to the frozen pokemon. “That pokemon had to die at that exact age. It was an adolescent, an unusually early evolution for the staryu line. It’s smaller than other members of its species, but as a result it retains the cleaner symmetry of a staryu. It would have grown out of it in a few months or years. Ending it while it was beautiful so that it can retain that beauty forever. It had to die.”

“It had to die?” Lillie pressed her hand, a tiny replica of her mother’s, against the glass.

“Yes.” A brief pause. “I understand that you’re still going to the conservatory to see the wild pokemon,” Lusamine said, her voice light, as if pleased by something. Lillie felt a sudden cold breeze run through the room.

“Yes, I am, Mother.”

“I forbid you from setting foot in that barbaric place anymore,” Lusamine stated. “I’ll be telling my employees not to let you in from now on. There’s too much dirt and unpleasantness in there. I don’t need you dragging it back here.”

“...Yes, Mother.”

* * *

 “Down here!” the panicked voice called. The two girls scrambled over the dirt and rocks of the hiking trail. Lillie slipped, stumbling down to one knee. She hissed in pain but stood quickly, following the other girl off the trail. She nestled underneath the root of particularly large tree. Lillie hesitated as her rescuer pulled a rifle around her shoulder, looking it over. They huddled together, looking about the dark forest. Her back ached where the bewear had slashed at her – how deep the cuts were, she had no easy way to tell right now.

“Did we lose it?” Lillie’s voice was nearly lost by the growing wind.

“No, bewear are obsessive hunters and have an incredible sense of smell. It’s likely already past my salazzle and coming after us.” She spoke in harsh, rushed tones, with a clipped precision that almost felt practiced.

“So why aren’t we running?” Lillie demanded. “We–”

“We can’t. Bewear are much faster than humans. We run, we die. We stand and fight, then _maybe_ we die.” The girl shook her head, his jaw clenched. “What the _fuck_ is a bewear doing so far down the mountain? Is the Hunter’s Association not doing their job?”

“I’ve only got one pokemon with me, a bagon.” Lillie held up Koa’s ball. She’d returned him during their flight down the hiking trail. “I’m not sure how much of a fight I can put up.”

“That’s what this baby is for.” She lifted the rifle. “I need you to give me some space so I can get a few good shots. One likely won’t take him down, but three or four might. Use your bagon somehow.”

“I… I can try.” Lillie felt a sharp plume of fear worm its way through her.

“Oh, and,” she turned back again, “do you have any empty pokeballs?” Lillie shook her head. “Here. They won’t catch him, but they can buy us some time. I’m Lei, by the way.” She stuck her hand out and Lillie took it. “Figured that if we’re about to die, I might as well introduce myself.”

Lillie stifled a strained chuckle.Lei reached into her backpack, pulling out three pokeballs and handing them over. Lillie took them and they both stood. The moon was shining down over the road, illuminating much of it in a milky haze. White and gray and black stood in place of the normally vibrant colors of the forest.

They took their positions on the road, Koa in front of Lillie, Lei off to the side in the woods. It wasn’t long before she heard the crashing. At first it was distant, muffled by the thick tropical forest. Lillie gripped one pokeball in her right hand, the other two attached to her belt.

She breathed in deep and her heartbeat thrummed violently in her chest.

The entire exchange with Lei had taken maybe three or four minutes. They’d been running for maybe two minutes. A little under six minutes since Lillie had been attacked. Her entire body was shaking, her eyes wide open as she gazed around the forest.

Explosive waves of sound reached her, stark evidence of distant trees being bowled over. Lillie felt her legs shaking, her arms shaking. Her back felt wet and sticky, painfully throbbing where the bewear had batted at her. She could feel her stomach knotting fully, her breathing sharp, and then…

_Pokemon are rational._

“Lillie!” Lei called from the forest. “No worries, okay? If we die, we die.”

“What an outlook,” Lillie called back, forcing herself to smile.

An explosion in front of them as a tree shattered. A dark form burst onto the road, all four limbs raking up the trail as it slid to a stop. Fire arced from its back where Lei’s salazzle clung to its fur, illuminating the massive pokemon’s wide face.

Most of the fur on its head had been burned away, leaving its wide, flat face nearly completely exposed. One eye was welded shut, the other open so wide it looked as if it would burst at any moment. A long line of fangs protruded from its short muzzle – one side of its snout was burned black, the other still retaining the bright pink fur so iconic of the species. Koa started to growl, his head shaking as he sputtered out strained, clicking notes.

It slowed when it noticed Lillie and Koa on the trail not thirty yards away. Another flash of fire as the massive bear pokemon slowly stood. It brushed one long, muscled arm back over its shoulder and the salazzle darted away from the strike.

Ignoring the movements of the lizard pokemon, the bewear lifted both its arms to the side, opening its mouth and baring its fangs. It roared – even from this distance, the sound was deafening, a barrage of feral noise that struck at the deepest, most primal part of herself. Lillie felt her legs wobble and she struggled to stay standing.

“Koa,” Lillie said as the noise died down. The pokemon glanced back at her. “Try your best.”

The bewear’s arms fell to the ground and, the salazzle still clinging to its back, charged.

The massive beast was quicker than Lillie had expected. She could see the dark, barely-illuminated creature racing down the trail towards her. Her chest chilled and she fought the urge to run. Koa charged as well, mouth open wide.

The first shot rang out through the woods and the bewear stumbled. Fire blasted from the salazzle’s mouth as it jumped off, as if realizing Lei was shooting at the larger creature. The bewear shuddered as one limb went limp, its body tumbling end over end, propelled by the sheer momentum of the charge. It slammed into a tree still twenty yards from Lillie.

Lillie saw where the second shot hit the creature. A small spot along its shoulder burst outwards with a tuft of thick fur. The salazzle was backing off, periodically lighting the air around it with blasts of thick, acrid streams of fire. Part of it drenched the legs of the wild pokemon and it roared, clamoring to its feet again.

It charged a second time.

“Shit! Lillie!” Lei shouted from the side. Lillie scrambled with one of the pokeballs, pulling her arm back and aiming.

She threw and the tiny red and white ball soared through the air towards the bewear… and then past it. Another shot rang out and the pokemon stumbled again, this time keeping its footing but slowing. Lillie stood transfixed as the juggernaut continued towards her.

“Koa!” The little dragon charged, clicking madly, its head down.

With a casual swipe from the back of its hand, the bewear launched the pokemon off into the forest to the side. Lillie stepped backwards, mouth open. She couldn’t run, couldn’t move at all. She stared as the creature neared her, its pace slowed to a crawl. It lifted an arm.

“Lillie!” Lei grabbed her arm and Lillie felt herself be thrown backwards onto the trail. Lei stepped into her place and attempted to duck under the bewear’s incredible swing. One finger clipped her shoulder, tearing a long line of red and throwing Lei backwards. She shouted indistinctly before crumpling against a tree, falling silent.

Lillie scrambled backwards, feeling the rocks and dirt under her legs. The bewear turned to her again, ignoring the salazzle screeching at its back that spit fire at its legs. Lillie stared up at the face of the monster, its grim visage illuminated under the light of the salazzle’s fire only a few feet away.

Much of its muzzle had been burned away, leaving exposed fangs poking out from burned gums. There wasn’t any pink fur left, and the skin underneath had charred and blackened. Its one remaining eye stared at her, black and featureless, without emotion. It towered over Lillie, its large, flat paws extending to the sky as it prepared to strike. It was so close she could smell the wet, the blood, the feral.

Lillie tried to swallow but couldn’t. Her mind was blank, her legs paralyzed, every action or intent to react completely stalled. She didn’t close her eyes.

“I’ve seen worse than you,” Lillie whispered. She couldn’t muster the strength to say it louder. If the pokemon heard or understood her there was no indication. As she pressed her palm against the ground to pull herself into an upright position, her hand pressed against the pokeball at her belt. She wrapped her hand around it as the pokemon reached for her.

A light toss and the red and white ball bounced against the fur on its wide chest. It disappeared in a quick, red flash.

_Three seconds._

Lillie scrambled to her feet, rushing towards where Lei had fallen. Her salazzle was pacing about her legs, hissing in rapid, high-pitched tones. Lei wasn’t moving, her head resting against the tree trunk. Lillie reached for the gun, grabbing it up and turning about.

A burst of light and sound as the bewear roared, the sound gurgling and sticky, as if plugged up. It spun, facing Lillie, and roared a second time. Lillie scrambled to raise the gun, pointing it at the massive pokemon as it prepared to charge again. It bent down, digging its paws into the earth, and…

...fell over. Lillie watched as the creature collapsed into the dirt, one arm buried underneath its wide, thick body, the other arm lazily pushed out to the side. Lillie waited for a few moments, uncertain what to do. It coughed heavily, and blood spurted from the pokemon’s mouth. It couldn’t clear its windpipe.

After a long pause, she walked forward and the fallen creature struggled to back away from her.

Lillie stood over the massive animal. Its muscles worked weakly, its lone black eye attempting to look up at her. Each breath was labored and hard, polluted by liquid sounds as blood began to fill the creature’s lungs. It was suffocating. For a while Lillie didn’t know what to do, so she simply stared down at the creature that she now realized was dying.

Lillie examined the creature, the gun held tight in her hands. She was only vaguely aware of how severe her grip was. She breathed quickly, short and shallow gasps that ran in time with her racing heart. It would be minutes for the creature to bleed out. Short enough that she could just leave it to its slow fate. And yet, if some second wind took hold of the creature and it got back to its feet…

_What would Ilima have done?_

The answer was obvious. Lillie leveled the rifle at the bewear’s head.

“Are you scared?” she asked, briefly hesitating.

The creature breathed a wet growl in reply. It was all she needed.

She pulled the trigger.

* * *

Lillie rifled through her ruined backpack, desperately clawing her way through what was left of it all. The bear had only briefly looked through her things. Likely, she realized, that was how she was able to escape to the road in the first place. She breathed out, shuddering from the action.

Koa patrolled around, keeping a sharp eye out at their surroundings. He had emerged from the forest earlier pretty much uninjured, suffering only a long scratch on his rocky, armored head, seeming none the worse for the wear.

She found what she was looking for near the bottom of the bag. Unopened bags of gauze and a roll of medical tape. Nebby and Hana’s pokeballs were there too, resting gently against the rocks. She grabbed them up, looking them over and sighing in relief when she saw they were undamaged.

“Thank god.” Lillie sighed. She ran her arm over as much over her back as she could, feeling the cool press of the blood-drenched, shredded fabric. She had no way of knowing how badly the bewear had injured her, but since she hadn’t fainted of blood loss yet, there was nothing she could do but keep going.

Lillie found Kukui’s hoodie and hat and threw them on quickly. The hoodie was still wet from the earlier rain, but there was no use worrying about that now. The suspension tent was completely ruined, torn shreds of fabric spread all about the small clearing. There wasn’t time now to search for any other useful items to salvage. She’d left the barely-conscious Lei back on the trail near the bewear’s corpse. Her salazzle had refused to move, instead standing guard over the girl.

A pathetic mewling and then a long, low growl forced her out of her thoughts. Lillie’s head snapped up, surveying the clearing. Koa was pointed towards the woods, his low voice grumbling. A small creature bumbled towards them, emitting a pathetic, high-pitched whine. Lillie bent down low, narrowing her eyes as she observed the newcomer.

A stufful waddled over to her, its reflective black eyes shining in the dark. It turned its head about as if searching for something.

“You’re the reason why...” Lillie said, walking over to the small pokemon. It was half the height of Koa when it was on all fours, and the white and pink stripes on its head were nearly indistinguishable in the moonlight. Koa growled at the creature, stepping forward.

Lillie walked around her pokemon, kneeling in front of the bear cub pokemon and extending one arm. It sniffed at her curiously before retracting its head. Koa stopped growling, inspecting the newcomer with narrowed, slitted eyes.

“You bears are like me, right? You don’t have a dad?” Lillie tickled the stufful’s nose a little and the tiny cub sneezed. “I hope you don’t.”

Lillie looked around quickly.

“I really hope you don’t have a dad.”

She got up and turned around, walking back to the center of the ruined campsite. She checked it once over again – Hana, Nebby, gauze, medical bandaging. She grabbed a nearby can of tuna for good measure, stuffing it in her pocket. Without a backpack, this was all she could take with her at the moment.

Lillie’s eyelids drooped, feeling the exhaustion working through her. It couldn’t have been that late at night yet, but she felt bone-tired. She whistled – a weak, airy sound – and Koa ran to her. The stufful mewled louder as Lillie walked away.

“Shhh!” She shushed it, and it quieted down. She turned away again.

More mewling.

Lillie walked away, ignoring the pokemon’s cries. After a while it stopped and Lillie sighed in relief. Koa followed after her as she worked her way through the forest and back to the trail. It would be a few minutes of walking from here to get back to where Lei was waiting. Once there, they’d have to find their way down the mountain _somehow_ and get back to a pokemon center.

As she stepped out from the woods and onto the road, she could hear movement in the underbrush behind her. She turned and saw the familiar stufful still following her. It looked up at her with a confused expression and Lillie hung her head.

“I literally just killed your mother,” she started. The pokemon just cocked its head at her and mewled again. “I didn’t have a choice.”

The pokemon looked at her and whined.

 _I am not qualified to raise a killing machine,_ she thought to herself as she drew the last empty pokeball from her belt. She knelt in front of the small, fluffy pokemon and extended her hand, pressing the pokeball gently against its pelt. The ball clicked open and the pokemon disappeared in a bright red flash.

_Three seconds._

The ball clicked once, then twice, then three times. Captured.


	33. Part II: Gladion I

****A white dot appeared before him, pulsing with faint and fragile light. He observed for a while, watching it flicker and blink. Even as it danced before him, the light verged on fading. The dot stretched uniformly into a thin line, not more than a foot across.

_Zero becomes One._

The line spun and twirled, never bending and never twisting. As he watched, it left trails of sparks in its path. He stood transfixed as the light grew stronger. The line expanded, one single edge becoming four, and a white square appeared before him.

_One becomes Two._

Like a flat sheet of paper floating in the air, yet rigid and implacable. Impossibly thin. He stared at the familiar construction. He spent a long time just watching its movement and the light grew still brighter. The flat sheet expanded, bursting out from the long, flat surface until a cube floated before him.

_Two becomes Three._

He smiled as the cube flew through the air. White, spotless faces with pristine, perfect edges. Each edge the exact same length, each face the exact same area. He reached out a hand to touch it and his hand scraped along one edge. Perfectly smooth and soft to the touch, yet without give.

_Three becomes Four._

His smile fell as the cube shifted. His eyes opened wide – he could not bring himself to look away. Each edge became two, four, six. The cube expanded but not in a familiar sense – it grew in a direction he had never before seen. It bulged and teared, the very perception of it grating against him. Blood red and black sides previously unseen showed themselves, but always he could see that pristine white cube huddled among the mass of other forms – alternate forms, each twisted and gyred yet straight and orderly upon closer inspection.

If his attention ever snuck away from the white, if he stared into the rest, the forms would become orderly even as the edges of his vision turned chaotic. Tendrils in the dark. Each face of the object a cube, bounded on all sides, into and out of shape.

Where the tesseract was the shadow, he now stared baldly into the light. His mouth hung open as he could do nothing but stare. All the faces were orderly, meeting back on themselves in ways they couldn’t possibly.

_Four becomes Five._

He screamed as his mind was wrenched open.

* * *

“’X’, ‘y’, and ‘z’. Length, width, and height. If I give you a cube, you’d be able to tell me what its length, width, and height are, right?”

“You’d have to give me a ruler too.”

“Point is, there is no functional difference between the length of this bottom edge and this top edge, right? They move along the same dimension. Now, compare that to this other side that moves another way – this ‘y’ edge.”

“Well, yeah, that’s one side, and then ‘x’ is another side. All the ‘x’s are the length and all the ‘y’s are the height, right?”

“They are all ‘lengths’ in that they measure a distance. Height and width give the same measure, just with the implication that it’s a different dimension.”

“Dad, I learned this in grade school.”

“Of course, of course. But what if I did this?”

“You suck at drawing.”

“Watch, watch. All I’m doing is drawing in a different direction than the ‘x’ or the ‘y’ or the ‘z’. I go roughly the same distance out – just like that – and there we go. Each corner of my cube now has a line sticking out of it, all the same length and pointing the same direction. Now, if I connect the new lines together I make a second cube that overlaps the first. Now we have two cubes, each connected at their corresponding corner, and each edge corresponding to a new, identical edge. The top right corner here on the first cube I drew is directly connected to the second cube’s top right corner. See?”

“I guess.”

“If we have ‘x’, ‘y’, and ‘z’ as our dimensions for our cubes, then what do we do about this weird fourth line that doesn’t follow the ‘x’, ‘y’, or ‘z’ direction?”

“I dunno.”

“We call it ‘w’. Really, these are just names for the concept we’re working with. A fourth spatial dimension.”

“And that’s what you and mother are researching?”

“Your mother has been handling most of the administrative tasks. I was never any good at organization – I’m sure you’ve poked around my study before. Your sister likes reading in there. Honestly, if it wasn’t for your mother, I’d be completely lost with running the foundation. It’s a miracle it ever got this big.”

“So mom isn’t a scientist?”

“Oh, I’m not implying that! She helped me come up with this idea. I’m just handling the everyday research on this specific idea and she’s running… well… everything else. It was her mathematics work that started this project off. If not for that, I never would have made any progress.”

“What were you missing?”

“It’s always been thought that there might be more spatial dimensions than our familiar three – length, width, and height. However, calling these ‘dimensions’ special is a bit inaccurate, really.”

“What do you mean?”

“Math does not distinguish dimensions in any special way. They’re just sets of whatever things you’re working with. When your mother is working on the funds, for example, she might have to take into account electricity costs, shipping costs, employee wages, special projects costs, food costs for the conservatory. That’s five things, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Five sets of numbers to work with. She probably has to work with a lot more than those though! However, if we just consider those five sets of numbers, those five costs that your mother’s keeping track of, then we’re already in a five-dimensional system.”

“Huh? How?”

“A dimension doesn’t have to be length, width, and height. It can be costs, or number of tables, or years, or anything, really. When you go on the internet and you see people talking about how two things relate to each other, you might see a bar graph or a line graph or something, right?”

“I guess?”

“Like, say, total ice flow in a particular region near the South Pole over a certain number of years.”

“That’s very specific.”

“Yes, but that’s already a two-dimensional system. Total ice flow, and years. It’s a really easy tool to represent data, which is why we commonly relate two items that way. There are plenty of cool ways you can graph the data in two dimensions.”

“How is it related to those two cubes you drew?”

“If you look carefully, you should be able to see six of them, actually. Eight if you imagine hard enough, though the last two are difficult to make out.”

“Huh. I don’t see more than two. I’ll keep looking.”

“Anyway, I just wanted to demonstrate that dimensions aren’t really lengths or quantities. They can be anything in existence and math would treat it the same way. It just so happens that science tends to use the word dimension to refer to space around us. Length, width, and height.”

“So what about this ‘w’ thing then? It connects the two cubes. Is it time?”

“No! But good guess! People often think of time as being the ‘fourth dimension’, but that has a lot of unfortunate implications making it too specific to be of use here. Time and space are intrinsically interrelated to be sure, but time only has one direction: forwards. There may – with weird quantum mechanics nonsense – be specific situations or sizes where time can have two directions, but that’s not really fully understood.”

“So then ‘w’ is like ‘x’ and ‘y’? It’s a distance.”

“Precisely!”

“So why can’t we walk along the ‘w’ direction. If I stand I can walk left or right and front or back. That’s ‘x’ and ‘y’.”

“Correct.”

“And if I move up in the air or down in the ground, that’s ‘z’.”

“Also correct.”

“So where is ‘w’?”

“That’s a question that’s difficult to answer – it was your mother that helped me figure it out. Imagine you’re in a valley between two mountains. Imagine on the other side is another valley and then another mountain. Imagine this stretching out to infinity, mountain then valley then mountain then valley.”

“Alright, I’ll picture it.”

“Our current reality – our entire universe – rests in one of these valleys. Your mother, my wife, she helped me realize this. Like in real life, if you want to push a ball up a hill, you have to exert force on the ball. It requires energy. We rest in one of these valleys, but if we want to go to the next valley over...”

“You have to push yourself up the mountain?”

“Precisely. We’ve built machines that _might_ be able to manage it under the right conditions. Maybe. Our initial measurements said it would take all of the energy in this entire galaxy in order to create the right conditions, but there’s a chance we can expedite the process.”

“How?”

“These portals appear naturally – that’s how we found out about them in the first place. If they appear naturally, then maybe… just maybe we can make one of our own.”

“So are these portals to parallel universes?If there are multiple universes, does that mean there are multiple versions of me? Or you?”

“Infinite realities does not mean infinite possibilities, but yes, I imagine it’s likely that if you exist here, in this world, then there must be more universes out there where you exist as well. A different you who may have lived a different life or the same.”

“That’s a little scary.”

“But liberating, no? If you were to fail at something here, in our world, there could be another world out there where you succeed! You would see the world through possibly an infinite number of eyes. The you here, now, would be just a single cross-section of a much larger organism – one that spans infinite dimensions yet exists only briefly in each. You are larger than you ever could have imagined, than you ever will be capable of imagining. Each one of us could be infinite.”

“Dad, you sound like a hippy.”

“Hah! True. I’m dipping heavily into the realm of conjecture and pseudoscience. I have to remember to stay grounded, even when discussing subjects such as these.”

“I’m still having a hard time seeing all this stuff in my head. You talk about fourth dimensions and energy valleys with universes inside, but what does any of it mean? I don’t understand it all. And how can I understand this if I can’t even imagine what it would look like?”

“Hmm…picture this, then. Picture standing in this room. Here, get up. Yes, stand right here, right in the center. Okay. You know your three dimensions: left and right, up and down, front and back. Let’s get rid of one. Let’s get rid of left and right. Imagine your vision as being planar: all you can see is above you and below you, in front of you and behind you.”

“I can’t see behind me unless I turn around!”

“Don’t worry too much about that. Now, you can only see a tiny section of the room now, right? If you take a step to your right or left, what you see radically changes. Maybe before you could see the window right in front of you, but now you see an open door. Hiding a dimension hides a lot of information, and much of the room is now hidden, right?”

“Right. Right now I’m seeing the desk in front of me, but if I take a step to my left – over here – now it’s just a bare wall.”

“You’ve hopped ‘two-dimensional universes’ by taking that step. The motion of moving your legs is the necessary energy required to pull yourself out of your valley and into the one next to it. However, you have to move through the third dimension in order to make this change – if you move forwards or backwards or up and down, you’d stay in the same 2D universe. If we want to visualize this same action but in four dimensions, replace the now-lost left and right direction with a new dimension, the ‘w’ direction. Imagine that you are just walking to the side, to the left or right.”

“I’m not sure if I can visualize that as well.”

“If you turned your head and looked to the left or right, you would see 2D cross-sections of this same room, except infinite variations of it. But be wary of taking those steps to the left or right! If there was a desert there or an ocean, you would suddenly find yourself in the middle of it, with no indication that you were previously safely home.”

“So… moving dimensions is just as simple as… turning towards the ‘w’ direction.”

“Precisely.”

“And to ‘step’ in the ‘w’ direction, we need energy to let us move there.”

“Yes.”

“And when we do make that step, we’ll find ourselves standing in another universe with length, width, and height just like our own.”

“Exactly.”

“But then what about the area in-between?”

“Hmm?”

“Call our universe ‘1’ for simplicity. The next valleys over are ‘0’ and ‘2’, right? One on each side.”

“A simplification, yes, but I understand the meaning. In truth, the notion of valleys and mountains is a simplification. Our own calculations suggest that stable universes, the valleys, _could_ be countable in number. Infinite, but discrete. Take all the whole numbers. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and so on. We can count up with them to infinity! However, we skip over all the numbers between each whole number. There are an infinite number of numbers between 1 and 2, but none of them are whole numbers.”

“And that is why I call our universe ‘1’, with ‘0’ and ‘2’ next to it.”

“So when you ask about the ‘area in-between’, you mean atop the mountains. The not-whole numbers. It would be an unstable location, easy to fall into the valley on either side.”

“Right. But if we are in ‘Universe 1’, then what does ‘Universe 1.5’ look like?”

“Assuming your mother’s theory – the valley nature of reality – is true, the only stable universes could exist in the bottom of valleys or the top of mountains – or, quite possibly, in saddles, brief ledges on the side of a mountain that you may run into on your way up or down. I would call a universe in a valley a ‘stable equilibrium’, and a universe that exists on a mountain or a saddle an ‘unstable equilibrium’. It would be easy for someone – or something – sitting in an unstable equilibrium to simply ‘slip’ into a valley and be stuck there. However, theoretically, it would be possible to stay in that unstable equilibrium, potentially for millennia. All other spots not in a valley, on a mountain, or sitting in a saddle would collapse into an equilibrium, preventing a universe from existing anywhere else.”

“So what would these ‘in-between’ universes look like? Would it look like a regular universe?’

“Maybe. Truth is I can’t say. When we push the proverbial rock up the mountain, it’s difficult to say what we wouldperceive.If we look at the space _between_ worlds… well, would we even want to?”

“Could there be things that live in that space?”

“Maybe. Life always has a way of surprising us scientists. It always finds a way.”

“What would it look like?”

“...I’ll have to think about that. To exist in the space between worlds would be a tenuous thing – living atop the mountaintop. All it would take is just a little nudge and they would slip into our reality or the reality on the other side of the hill. To prevent that, any life living there must have adapted somehow. To something. This is all conjecture, but they must be able to perceive the space in which they exist and how not to slip into our world, otherwise we’d be flooded with the things.”

“How? Would they see it?”

“Not with three-dimensional eyes. Imagine how strange it would be to exist, to look one way and see an entire universe right next to you, blind to you, yet always there. Then, you look another way, and there’s a second universe entirely separate from the first.”

“I’d go crazy.”

“Imagine falling out of your home and being stranded here with us primitive, limited humans. Would they still be able to see other universes? If they could, would they be able to reach out, to touch them? There’s no way of knowing if such a creature could even notice us or, if they could, if they would understand we were living creatures.”

“Why wouldn’t they see us as living?”

“Imagine a stick-figure drawn on a piece of paper. Hey, rather, imagine an anime. We can watch the anime, see the two-dimensional people interact, but they are not _human_ and we understand that. They are objects to be observed and enjoyed, but they are not sentient, living things.”

“Hah, so you’re saying these inter-dimensional creatures would watch us like anime?”

“It’s possible! They might recognize our plights or see us as individuals – maybe, even that’s conjecture. But to them, we may as well be moving statues. A creature who could freely move between dimensions would be able to see inside your heart or brain, perhaps be able to see other versions of you, see other realities. It would be able to disappear and reappear in a completely different location. It would have powers and abilities that could only possibly make sense to it.”

“So that brings me back to my question from before. What would such a creature look like?”

“We would see only cross-sections. Tentacles and tendrils, dripping mass, limbs that would appear and disappear at whim. They may be polygonal and regular or biological and fleshy depending on its true form. It may have faces – or several – and other forms and features we may naively associate with three-dimensional objects, but its real appearance would be something we could never even begin to grasp. It may be nothing special to others of its own kind, but to us… to us it would be unfathomable.”

“All of this is making my brain hurt. I think I need to take a break.”

“Take as much time as you want. I’ll be here to answer any question you might have. However, try to understand it on your own first. Mull it over, picture it, attempt to grasp the idea – only when you reach a wall in your understand should you reach out for more.”

* * *

He moved and the universe shimmered.

“Wake up,” she said, and he opened all his eyes.


	34. Part II: Lillie IV

It was the same four square tiles, perfectly shaped things, that she had stared at for the last minutes. Occasionally a boot or a sandal or a sneaker would step on them and she would absently turn to follow, each foot striding end over end over end. Then her attention would return to those four square tiles. She couldn't quite tell if they were expensive carved stone or cheap thin plastic. They were white, with grout that seemed to fuse cleanly with the edges of the tile, the regularity of it all strongly implying linoleum, though she couldn't quite be sure.

In the Aether Paradise, all the tiles were metal. It was expensive, as Mother had been quick to point out very often, but easy to clean and of obvious high quality. Pure white metal tiles laying out along miles and miles of tunnels. The only exception to the rule was in private living quarters. Lillie looked up at the fluorescent lights – Aether Paradise had much the same. White tile floors and long fluorescent lights.

She'd often heard it said that fluorescent lights contained mercury, a very toxic substance. Often she had wondered what would become of Aether Paradise if all the lights were to break at once. Lillie would ponder it as she walked through the pristine halls. She would pass the immaculately dressed scientists and employees with their stainless white uniforms all deeply cleaned and freshly pressed. And as she passed them she would wonder what they would do if all the lights were to shatter.

Trapped in miles upon miles of dark tunnels, shards of glass at your feet, poison in the air.

Lost, confused, afraid.

"...questions for you."

Lillie shook her head, surprised by the sudden voice. She looked up at the man standing over her in his familiar black uniform, a gun strapped to his waist, a clipboard in his hand. Lillie stood up quickly out of the thin metal chair, straightening out her shirt and shorts as if automatically. The police officer looked down at her as if trying to puzzle something out.

"You're… Lisa, right?"

It had been a hasty pseudonym that she'd thought up when asked earlier, and she'd almost provided her real name regardless.

"Y-yes..." Lillie looked up at the large man, then away. Behind him, the pokemon center was relatively empty. Another police officer was talking quietly with the nurse at the counter, occasionally jotting down information in a notepad. Lillie knew there was probably another one in Lei's room talking to her. The trip back to the pokemon center had been rough on Lei – it was possible she had a concussion, but the doctor said she just had to wait for more symptoms to show.

Lillie stared longingly at the front door, wishing she could just run out of it.

"I heard a rough outline of what happened from the nurse, but I'd like to hear it directly from you." There was a hint of concern underneath the stern exterior of the policeman. He was younger than she was expecting, maybe in his twenties, about six feet tall or so. He seemed to tower over her, with nearly a foot difference in height. He wasn't Alolan, something she noticed right away. His stiff uniform gave him a somewhat awkwardly top-heavy appearance, what with the radio and camera attached to his chest.

_The moment that recording gets back to somebody that recognizes me…_

Lillie breathed in, already knowing the story she was supposed to tell.

"M-My friend and I were going camping in the woods. W-We wanted to see some of Wela's natural forests and maybe some of the pokemon around there. Lei always wanted to catch a fletchinder and we'd heard it was easier to surprise them at night. So w-we hiked over the Kanaha Trail and set up a campsite–"

"You know that's illegal, right?" the gruff police officer interrupted her. Lillie winced and the man's expression softened, as if regretting what he'd said. "Don't worry. It's a waste of time to punish you guys for that. But those signs are there for a reason. Both of you could have been killed."

"Lei always told me that bewear only lived further up the mountain..." Lillie's voice trailed off. It felt odd to mix lies and truth together, fabricating a story that was only dishonest where convenient. But despite the uncertain feeling in her stomach, the words came almost easily to her.

"Normally, yes, but we've had to send Hunters after low-elevation bewears before. It's not that uncommon." The man rubbed the back of his head. "Go ahead and continue with your story."

"Ah, uhm, okay..." Lillie fiddled with her hands, staring at the floor. "We were packing up for the night when the bewear attacked. We ran while Lei's salazzle distracted it, but it came after us, so Lei shot it. I… I captured the stufful that it was with."

The man nodded, jotting down some notes. After a while he stopped and smiled at her.

"Thank you. You should see your friend. We made sure there was a room available for you both at the center, too." The man closed his notebook with a flick of the wrist, then opened it again as a thought seemed to cross his mind. "Do you have family on the island?"

_We hadn't talked about that question…_

"N-Not really..." Lillie stated. "I just came here for the Island Challenge. I was heading to the next trial when this all happened."

The man wrote a few more notes. Then he closed it again.

"Alright. Thank you for your time." The police officer nodded at her. "And please don't do that again. Stick to safe camping areas. We get cases about wild pokemon attacks several times a month. The rules are there for a reason."

"O-Of course," Lillie nodded quickly. "I'm sorry."

* * *

Lillie stopped in the long hallway. The nurse walking behind her stepped around, not even sparing a second glance at the teenager as she passed. Her legs were like iron, and every step seemed harder than the last. She leaned against the wall and stared at the tiled floor.

On another inspection, the tiles were chipped or scuffed in places. Years of decay from innumerable steps had left their mark, with the center of the hallway pitted and grayed. Lillie fell against the wall, her vision losing focus. She stared at a long, slender crack in the tile – it arced towards her, the thin gap a sharp black.

_Imperfect…_

In her mind, she saw the gaping hole left in the mother bewear's caved-in skull. Its eyes had bulged out from the impact of the rifle shot, forcing its black eyes out wide, as if about to pop. It stared past her into the distance.

_Eventually I'll see the same thing._

Lillie slid down the wall, her shoulder pressed firmly against the wall, the short sleeve of her t-shirt riding up. One of her legs went out to the side, the other buckling underneath her. Cool tile brushed against her bare skin.

The bewear still moved even after its death, muscles twitching unconsciously, erratically. Its arms and legs moved more significantly that the rest, responding to panicked and confused neural signals. There was a foul stench in the air, but Lillie had barely registered it. She'd stared over the corpse for a long moment.

One particular violent spasm lifted its arm bodily and Lillie clenched the rifle trigger again and again, blowing two more wide holes in the fallen creature's back. When the rifle clicked to protest its lack of ammo, Lillie threw the gun away and backed up, breathing quickly, panicked.

Moonlight lit the carcass brightly as Lillie pressed her back against a tree.

The same shade as this tile, or maybe perhaps a little brighter. Lillie stared at a single spot, the corner of a closed doorway where the baseboards turned. The wood of the baseboard, painted a clinical blue, matched well with the tile and the gray cement brick wall.

_Everything's supposed to fit together._

Lillie thought back to the rotting gumshoos corpse, how its spine had fused with the rock floor as if it had become part of the scenery. Nebby caused that somehow. It was the only explanation. He had sat there silently, nestled among the rocks of the Verdant Cavern, lying in wait for  _something_.

Her heart was beating faster now, suddenly very apparent in her ears. It seemed to fill her perception, and she clutched at her chest, her breath fluttering as if in response. Her heart throbbed in her chest and throat, pushing against the bottom of her neck. Lillie pressed her palm flat against her chest and breathed in deep, trying to calm down. She couldn't, the heartbeat only seeming to grow even more panicked. A sudden dull malaise gripped the back of her mind, indistinct and unformed. There was no obvious cause for all this. The anxiety simply sat there, pressing against her brain.

"...okay?"

Lillie snapped to attention. A girl leaned over her, leaning somewhat awkwardly, with one leg just a little bit above the ground. Lillie stared up at her, mouth agape. She closed it quickly, struggling to bring herself to respond.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked again. Her gray eyes were sharp, reserved. Her posture was as if she couldn't make up her mind about what to do, with her arms firmly clasped behind her back and her brow furrowed. Her hair was gray, an unusual color, and she was far too young for it to be natural… right?

For a long moment, Lillie simply stared at her, and the girl shifted uncomfortably, putting her foot on the ground and leaning back. Lillie's heartbeat started to slow.

"Yes!" Lillie said suddenly, pressing a hand against a wall and fumbling her way back to her feet.

The girl stood over her by a few inches, but she wasn't particularly tall. She wore a stiff, Alice-blue polo shirt with matching sporty shorts, but a dark zippered hoodie hung open from her shoulders, contrasting heavily with the rest of her clothes. Lillie looked up at her, meeting her gaze just for a moment before flicking her eyes away again.

It had always been easier to stare at a wall than meet a person's gaze.

"Kahili," the girl said, sticking a hand out towards her. Lillie looked at it for a second before taking her hand and shaking lightly. When Lillie looked at her face again, the girl was managing a curt smile, but it slipped comfortably back to a guarded frown.

_Her hands are a little calloused…_

"Lil… Lisa," Lillie replied hesitantly.

"You're one of the girls who was attacked by a bewear, right?" Lillie nodded. "I've spoken to your companion, Lei. I'm… I had a few questions for you."

Lillie noted the odd pause in her speech. The girl's speech was somewhat halting, as if she had carefully mulled over every word and hated each one. She continued.

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to talk to you for a bit. It may be a bit lengthy, so we can converse in the café if you aren't opposed. If you wanted a drink, it would be on me, of course. I… I wouldn't extend the invitation unless I'd be paying for it, after all."

"I..." Lillie looked back at the girl's still gaze. It was as if Kahili hadn't looked away even for a moment, her stare interrupted only by the occasional blink. "Sure, I guess."

There weren't many people in the pokemon center's cafe. Kahili had mentioned something about this center always being empty at night on the way down from the patient's quarters. Lillie walked without really paying attention to her surroundings, randomly locking her eyes on this random object or that. Occasionally she'd mumble a response to Kahili's nervous and clipped chatter.

The cafe was near the front desk of the medical wing of the pokemon center, positioned just off the main lobby. There were a small handful of people waiting about – one stressed out trainer with his head in his hands sat on a bench near the door, tears in his eyes. Lillie briefly wondered what his story was before looking away.

A tired worker in black clothes took their order, nodding at every single one of Kahili's short sentences. The drink she'd wanted took Lillie completely by surprise, but the man behind the counter simply nodded his head absently, his expression distant, as if he was only half listening. Lillie found herself listing Kahili's order again in her head: tall, lightly iced, four shot, ristretto latte that was sugar free, extra-hot, no whip, half-caramel, and 1% foam.

Lillie ordered a hot chocolate.

When they sat at the table, drinks in hand, Kahili's expression was no less intense, but her speech was still hesitant. Now she was looking away very often, barely even meeting Lillie's eyes as Lillie was slowly adjusting to looking at the girl.

Kahili sipped on her ludicrously complicated drink once, then pulled off her hoodie, revealing slim shoulders and a similarly slender body. She was evidently athletic, with lean muscle in her arms. Lillie looked her over once before settling back into her seat, slouching with her hot chocolate pressed in her hands.

"So… I had some questions," Kahili stated. Her voice didn't sound Alolan in the slightest – no, there was no indication she was native besides her name. There was a hint of posh to it, one Lillie found she had the hardest time hearing. Many of the people on Aether Paradise sported the same inflection.

"Go ahead," Lillie responded. Her own voice felt unusually gravely in her throat.

"You're not native to Alola, right?" Kahili asked. "Your name and your manner of speech is very much like a mainlander. What part of Unova are you from?"

_That's presumptuous…_

"H-here, actually," Lillie started. "I guess I don't have an Alolan name, but I was born here. My mom is from Unova, but my dad is from Alola."

"How long have you been a trainer?" Pointed, strictly defined questions.

"Uh… a month or so."

"I heard from the nurse. You have a bagon with you. Does it listen to you?"

"Yes?" Lillie uptalked the word, leaving the phrase dangling like a question.

"So it doesn't listen to you–"

"No, no, it does," Lillie interrupted her. Kahili stared at her and Lillie felt herself blush. The girl's expression was intense, and Lillie found herself unable to look back.

"And you've owned it only for a month? Fascinating." Kahili sipped her complicated drink and shifted in her seat. The top button of her polo shirt was buttoned, Lillie noticed, nesting tight against her thin neck. Very proper.

Lusamine would have loved her.

"We had a… rough start." Lillie laughed hesitantly.  _If by rough, you mean he nearly killed me._ "I've actually had him for two months now, but he was in his ball most of the first."

"You're very young to own a dragon pokemon," Kahili stated. Her expression shifted, her speech halting but positive. It was as if the act of expressing too heavily was painful to her. "I raised a bagon myself, actually. I'm fascinated by flying types, after all. The way they dance in the air… There are so many strategies that I've learned from them. When you learn to view a battle in three dimensions, everything changes. And salamence are… beautiful in flight, not the fastest, but what they lack in speed they make up in sheer strength and ferocity. They are not the easiest to raise, however. My own is… difficult to manage, so she is not part of my regular team."

Lillie took it all in, surprised at the girl's sudden wordiness.

"I… Koa's still just a bagon." Lillie laughed a little. "I can't even imagine him as a huge dragon. He's not even half as tall as me."

"How old did you say you were?"

_I didn't._ Lillie raised an amused eyebrow. Suddenly the other girl seemed less distant.

"Fourteen. Fifteen soon, actually," Lillie said, realizing it as she said it. Her birthday was only weeks away.

"What school do you go to?" The girl's gray eyes seemed to shimmer with curiosity.

"School? I… I'm on an island challenge."

"Right, but you'll have to be going back to that in a month or so, right?" Kahili didn't seem to miss a beat. "What school?"

"H...Hau`oli Trainer's Academy..." Lillie answered.  _Though I only attended it when I was living with Professor Kukui._

"Oh, I know the principal there," Kahili stated, her eyebrows lifting with surprise. "Principal Asuka. She's a talented trainer – her arcanine is quite fierce."

"Uhm..." Lillie fiddled with her thumbs. "Was this what you wanted to question me about?"

"Oh, no, no, not at all!" Kahili said quickly.

She brushed her gray hair back, tying it into a ponytail. Lillie briefly pondered that. She'd heard of premature hair graying before. Kahili must have been using some sort of dye to keep the color even throughout, embracing it instead of fighting it. She thought back to when Mother had started getting a few gray hairs – she'd raised hell and spent lavish amounts of money getting her hair "back to normal".

Kahili opened her mouth to speak again, but a woman walked up to her table. A nurse, with three balls on a tray in her hands. Lillie looked up at her and the woman smiled.

"Your pokemon," the woman, a nurse, said, setting the tray on the table. "Are you sure you didn't want us to take a look at your fourth pokemon?"

Lillie rested a hand on Nebby's ball, still strapped to her waist. "No, thank you."

"There is something you should know," the nurse started. "There was no permanent damage, but..." The nurse bit her lip. Lillie stared at the girl, wishing she'd get on with what she was saying already. "The membrane that composes a pichu's ear is very thin. When damaged, it can be very difficult to repair properly. The machines tried their best..."

"Tried their best?" Lillie narrowed her eyes.

"There's no way to repair it fully, regretfully. We see this problem occasionally. There isn't any permanent damage to his ear, but..." She trailed off. Lillie nodded and the nurse excused herself. She mumbled her thanks as the lady walked off and Lillie pressed the central button. Hana materialized on the table between the two and Lillie reached a tentative hand for his ear.

It had been split into three pieces, long scarred lines running two-thirds of the length down his ear. Hana winced at her touch and the pokemon's ear retracted backwards, laying nearly flat against his head. Hana himself didn't seem to care about the difference, and he sniffed at her hand curiously. Lillie gingerly ran her hand over his fur, careful not to touch his ear – the machines at the center had mended the flesh of the ear, but hadn't been able to reconnect the tissues together. The new skin was raw and pink, and evidently sensitive.

"Oh my god, you have a pichu?" Kahili's voice jumped up an entire octave. She coughed, turning her head politely and quickly settling herself down. Hana glared at Kahili before jumping off the table and settling into Lillie's lap. Lillie clicked Koa's and her stufful's pokeballs to their slots on her belt and looked back at her companion.

"S-so why did you want to talk to me?" Lillie mentally berated herself for stumbling over the first word.

"My father's a Hunter!" Kahili stated, almost excitedly. "I mean, I do a bunch of things too, I guess, but those aren't as relevant to you guys right now."

"What do you do?" Lillie asked.

"Golfing and battling," she said simply.

_What a combination._ Lillie wasn't sure if she was supposed to be impressed.

"What do 'Hunters' do?" Lillie asked. The name was familiar, but she couldn't be completely certain if they were just people who liked guns and shooting animals or if it was something else entirely. She stroked the back of Hana's good ear and pokemon growled contentedly.  _If I'd known that battle with Mike was going to cause that kind of damage, I never would have done it._ And then another thought blinked in her mind.  _Ilima would call that way of thinking foolish._

"Well, he's a part of the Hunter's Associaton, for one," Kahili stated. "Because of his affiliation, I'm an honorary member as well. "

She turned, digging around in the pockets of the hoodie she had draped over the back of her chair. She pulled out a wallet – an unexpectedly simple leather thing – and displayed an ID.

_Her picture makes her look like an asshole._

And then Lillie noticed something else.

_She's eighteen. Younger than I expected._

"And what do they do?" Lillie found her tone slipping into the monotone. Kahili seemed to notice it as well, and the girl's expression suddenly fell back to being reserved and distant. She closed her wallet. When she replied, her tone of voice was back to being formal.

"They hunt pokemon." Lillie felt a sudden chill at the change in her tone. "I wanted to talk about the bewear you killed. Every bewear death is carefully documented – many of them have already been sedated and their DNA registered with the Hunter's Association database. This way they can track their numbers in the wild and determine which individuals are killed when incidents like this happen."

"And also when bewears kill humans," Lillie noted.

"Right. Hunters only go after them if the attack is determined to be predatory in nature or if they're straying too far out of their territory and into populated areas." Kahili's steel gray eyes bored into Lillie and the younger girl found herself looking away again. "Bewear aren't the only pokemon tracked like this, either. Toucannon, lycanroc, salamence, and then toxapex are probably the next most common, in that order. Occasionally we have to deal with hungry snorlax that have eaten children foolish enough to jump on its belly."

"I was always told snorlax were harmless."

"When they aren't hungry."

Lillie bit her lip, examining the woman some more. She had barely touched her frilly, ridiculous drink. Her expression was sharp and inquisitive, if somewhat harsh. "Your association got here fast," Lillie mentioned. "It's still the middle of the night."  _And you're drinking caffeine._

"Technically it's not 'my' association, but they'll be grateful for any information I tell them. Besides, I was in the area." Kahili shrugged. "Were you injured in the attack?"

"Somewhat," Lillie said. "The nurse patched me up, I guess. I have a few bandages on my back, but I was lucky enough that the cuts weren't deep."

"There are support groups that exist for victims of wild pokemon attacks, in case you're interested." Kahili dug around in her wallet for a moment before pulling out a card. "This has several different numbers on the back you can call if you ever feel you want to talk to somebody about what happened."

"I… uh…" Lillie took the card. She didn't feel a particular inclination to look it over.

"And here," Kahili swiped the card back for a second and rooted around her hoodie again before pulling out a pen. She wrote another number on the card. "This is my personal number too. I know a lot of Association members and a lot of their groups. I can help if you need anything at all."

Lillie started to stand. Hana opened his eyes and darted up her arm to stand on her shoulder. "Thank you. I should really get to bed. It's late, and..."

"And the other thing!" Kahili stood as well, reaching one hand for Lillie's elbow. "There was an inconsistency in your two stories, Lillie. When I spoke to Lei earlier, I mean. What you both told the police was very much the same, but when Lei spoke to me, she let it slip that you were the one that killed the bewear."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know what it's like to be there," Kahili started. "And it isn't easy. Sometimes it's best to sit down and talk with somebody. Anybody. It doesn't have to be me, but..."

"I-I should get to bed," Lillie said, starting to move away, but Kahili kept a light hold of her.

"Please, take a look at the card. And if there's anything I can do–"

"I should really get to bed," Lillie snapped, yanking her elbow out of Kahili's grip.

She turned, grabbing up what was left of her hot chocolate, and stormed off. When she finally closed the door to the very small room the pokemon center had provided for her, she lay down on her bed, the hot chocolate sitting forgotten in the trash. Hana nestled against her side, breathing lightly, dozing off.

And try as she might, she couldn't do the same.


	35. Part II: Acerola III

Acerola jerked awake as the plane touched down, its wheels grinding roughly against the pavement. The plane bounced and several people in the plane gasped. Acerola felt her own stomach fall, the uneasy movement jarring her into wakefulness. The plane touched down a second time and slowed, pulling into a small airport. Most of the buildings here were a single story. In the morning sun, Acerola watched the only other plane in the airport as it sat idly near one of the few docks.

It was another twenty minutes or so for the plane to finally pull in and for Acerola to stand and walk down the small aisle. The airports on Akala Island were much like those on Ula`Ula Island, humble in size and workload, and neither could hold a candle to the massive international monstrosity that was Hau`oli Airport on Melemele Island.

She didn’t check any bags, so she strode right out to hail a cab, her purple backpack slung over one shoulder. It would have been nice to call a car from the app on her phone, but services like that didn’t quite exist on the outer islands just yet.

_When I go to college, I’m definitely going to Melemele Island. I can’t stand this empty landscape._

Miles and miles and miles of space. Further down the highway, if it could be called that, sat Heahea City, the largest population center on the island. With a population of roughly 140,000, the entire island had nearly ten times less people as Melemele Island but was nearly a third bigger.

All of this added up to the desolate scenery stretching out around her as the cab zoomed down the nearly empty highway. She leaned against the window, elbow propped up on the door handle to support her head.

_Ghosts hate a place devoid of people._

Her anxiety ceased somewhat as buildings began to pop up. Heahea City wasn’t particularly large, but it put on a good show. There were a few tall buildings – mostly hotels near the water – and a _lot_ of small ones. The ground was littered with them, much like Melemele Island, except smaller in scale. It was as if the roles of the islands were reversed: where Melemele Island was packed with buildings and signs of civilization, with only specific natural reserves cordoned off for wildlife, here it was as if the humans were the ones contained.

The cab pulled up next to a rather nondescript building, its squat concrete structure a meager two stories tall. Large emboldened letters adorned the side: Dimensional Research Lab. Acerola scoffed at the name.

_They’re always so dramatic._

It was her first time there, but the receptionist seemed to recognize her. The lobby was small, with severe metal chairs sporting thin red cushions. When Acerola was ushered upstairs to another, more agreeable waiting area, a tangible relief wormed through her. A television sat against the far wall, playing the local news. Acerola leaned back on the thick sofa, breathing a heavy, relaxed sigh.

“The Hunter’s Association, the government organization responsible for the handling of such incidents, reported that the rogue bewear has been confirmed dead. The bear pokemon had been felled by the two teenage girls that encountered it, though both sustained minor injuries in the attack. The incident has sparked _outrage_ in the local community about the new Unovan gun control laws to be coming into effect next year. The –”

Acerola watched absently. Pokemon attacks were nothing rare, though this particular incident did seem somewhat unusual. She stared at the upper left hand corner of the television as she struggled to recall what she knew about the pokemon. They were reclusive, but mostly because they were intelligent enough to prefer avoiding humans. Extremely dangerous, though, and difficult to properly raise. She’d heard of a couple trainers mauled by their own bewear.

The image on the television changed, showing two purported experts that occupied different perspectives on whatever issue they were debating. Acerola listened to it inattentively.

“But your entire argument is ridiculous. The _facts_ are that if those two girls didn’t have a rifle with them, they would be dead! People too commonly underestimate how strong a wild pokemon can become, and that’s exactly why we’re in this situation. All this is just because we allow Unova to walk all over us–”

The other man stared at the first incredulously.

“Are you talking about Alolan Sovereignty or are you talking about gun control? You should make up your mind here–”

“They’re the same issue. If you were informed about this in any way–”

“If _you_ were informed, you’d know that the model of gun used to kill the bewear is not on any ban-list. It was a _hunting rifle_ , not a semi-automatic–”

“First it’s the heavier weapons, but they always come for the rest eventually–”

Neither men seemed particularly interested in letting the other talk. The only way one was able to start making a point was by interrupting the other. Acerola groaned, resisting the urge to lie down on the sofa. It had been _such_ a long morning. She had to catch a cab all the way to Malie City first thing just so she could make her flight, and even then she’d spent a solid two hours at the airport. Her eyes started to flutter closed and she found herself unable to keep concentrating on the arguing men. It was growing more intense apparently, but it all felt distant.

A fist slammed against a wood desk, forcing her awake.

“And this is _exactly_ why our people need a king.” Acerola was wide awake now, staring at the television. The man who had been arguing against gun control was standing now, his eyes wide. “The weak just continue to bow and scrape to their Unovan masters. None of you care for the Kānaka Maoli. _None_ of you care what happens to our culture. It’s been over a hundred years since our slavery started, but none of you care because they aren’t slapping chains on your wrists. Do any of you _remember_ the task our King gave us? E naʻi wale nō ʻoukou, i kuʻu pono ʻaʻole pau! All of you–”

The screen shut off, the image of the red-faced, screaming Alolan man replaced by an empty blackness. Acerola turned around. A familiar tall woman stood in the doorway, the remote control in one hand. She was smiling apologetically as she leaned against the frame.

“I’ve told Emily a thousand times not to leave the news on in the lounge,” Professor Burnet said, her voice cheerful and light. “I don’t want everyone I talk to getting depressed and nihilistic right before a meeting.”

“All that over a bewear attack,” Acerola mused. She stood, wincing at the clanging of the items in her backpack.

_Nanu’s rock… and the golden armband that proves I’m royalty._

She was lead back out into the winding hallway, further into the thick concrete building. Burnet chattered aimlessly as they walked about the weather and what restaurant she visited the day before and a light smattering of politics. Acerola nodded her head along with the conversation, only half listening. When they both arrived at a thick iron door, Burnet lifted it bodily and walked inside.

“Radio silence,” Burnet said, slapping the bundle of papers roughly down on her desk. It was a chaotic sight all around – several computer monitors displaying numerous charts and graphs and data set. Despite Burnet’s earlier complaints, the news was playing in her lab as well, with at least one scientist silently watching. A few others milled about – typing, eating, one even sleeping and another pacing incessantly.

“What’s going on?” Acerola asked. “Or does your lab always look like this?”

Papers were strewn about everywhere on the floors. The scientists themselves looked exhausted. Even Burnet had dark circles under her eyes on closer inspection. There was a slight hint of body odor in the room, as if at least a couple of them hadn’t gone home to wash.

“Nearly two months ago, there was an event,” Burnet stated. “It happened the same night that young girl on Melemele Island fell to her death and washed out to sea.”

“I remember that,” Acerola said. “It was all over the news. Didn’t the mother file a lawsuit against the state?”

“Which was dropped,” Burnet said. “A pokemon tore down the bridge the girl was on. Iki Town had nothing to do with it. Anyway, that same night there was a massive outburst of energy potentially consistent with the presence of a particular form of exotic matter – something that’s necessary if a wormhole-like structure was to exist.”

“Wormhole-like structure…?” Acerola tilted her head.

“Ultra Wormholes. They’re distinct from other theorized wormholes because they may connect to points _outside_ of our own universe.” Professor Burnet sighed, shaking her head. “Honestly, I was getting close to shutting this lab down. I thought we simply didn’t have the resources to detect anything like it, if they even existed.”

Acerola glanced at the television. The news had long-since removed the screaming man, and the Unovan lawyer he’d been arguing with was now sitting calmly with a woman from the television station.

“So what does Nanu’s rock have anything to do with this?” Acerola asked, unzipping her bag and pulling out the unassuming chunk of rock. Burnet stared at it suspiciously before pulling on a set of gloves from her desk and taking it from Acerola. She walked towards the back of the room towards a single gray door.

“We detected another spike in radiation consistent with the previous event just two weeks ago. It was smaller in scale, and closed much more quickly, but we were ready for that one. A burst in radiation consistent with Mohn’s Hypothesis.”

“Mohn’s Hypothesis?”

“The founder of Aether Foundation. He acquired a good bit of notoriety for that one, but the mathematics work was incredibly solid. I’m told much of it was worked out by his wife, Lusamine. If so, then her place as the current head of the foundation is very well-deserved.” Professor Burnet held the door open. She smiled at Acerola and gestured inside. She looked oddly pensive. “I met her once at a party. Brilliant woman, if a tad...intense.”

 _That’s Lillie’s mother. So her parents are more than just celebrities, huh?_ _Funny. She seemed too fragile to be a snobby rich girl. At least until she let her bagon nearly kill_ _ed_ _Hau’s popplio._

“I thought Aether Foundation just worked on conservation efforts?” Acerola followed Professor Burnet through the door. Burnet flipped on the switch, revealing a row of inactive machines against the far wall. This room was bare concrete, without even a hint of comfort.

“Oh no, they’ve got their hands everywhere. They’re the single largest employer in Alola besides the Unovan military. They’re in politics, energy, research, even the Island Challenge now that they’re working with my husband. Rumor has it they even had ties to the late Kahuna Pokani.”

Acerola bristled at the name but said nothing.

_I wasn’t expecting that._

Burnet set the rock on one particular machine near the back right, then lowered a glass cylinder over it. A few button presses later and the machine hummed to life. The cylinder pulsated several rows of blue light at the rock and Burnet backed up, folding her arms and turning to Acerola.

“Have you considered my husband’s offer at all?” Burnet asked. Acerola sighed. She knew the question was going to come up eventually.

“I… I don’t know. The lineup is a tad bit intimidating. I don’t know if I can really compare.” Acerola thought back to the letter she’d received several months ago. A job offer that she’d never expected to be asked for. “I’m only being considered because Nanu outright refused, anyway.”

“You’re being considered because you’re that talented,” Burnet said. It was so casual, so simple of a thing to say, but Acerola couldn’t bring herself to believe it. “Nanu had first priority because of his seniority, not because he was better than you are.”

“Except he _is_ more talented than me, and he’s not the only one. I heard Kahili flew back to Alola for this. She was already an Alolan Trial Champion when I got my first pokemon. She has so much more experience than I do.”

Burnet smiled at her. “Have some faith, Acerola. My husband knows talent when he sees it.”

She sighed, rocking on her heels awkwardly. Professor Kukui _was_ well-respected in the trainer community. _He should just take my spot if he really wants someone to fill it._ An idea popped into Acerola’s head. She looked up at Burnet.

“Wasn’t Aether Foundation investing in the formation of a Pokemon League here in Alola? I remember hearing something about Professor Kukui on the news about it.”

“Oh, that.” Burnet laughed. “My husband did a favor for Lusamine a while back, and in return they agreed to help fund his plans for the Pokemon League. He wanted to build it on the summit of Mauna Lanakila. Can you imagine? There were some protestors, actually–”

“That was on the news too.”

“Well, aren’t you informed?” Burnet smiled at her. “They were mostly from the Alolan sovereignty movement. Something about the summit being sacred ground and a few complaints about it being the silversword plant’s native habitat. When Kahuna Hala stepped in to advocate for us, many of the less extreme protesters went home. Aether Foundation even agreed to an enormous conservation effort on the summit just to make sure there’s as little damage to the environment as possible. The military was able to get rid of the extremists once all the rest of that was taken care of.”

 _How casually she brushes th_ _em_ _aside…_

“Besides,” Burnet continued. “Between the money that will be brought in from tourism for a new pokemon league and the research that will be done when the new observatory is put up, there’s nothing to complain about.”

The machine beeped a few times and Burnet turned back to it. She sighed.

“This is going to take longer than I thought. Did you want to grab some lunch, by any chance? I’m starving. I’ll pay.”

“Uh… sure!” Acerola nodded her assent. No sense turning down free food.

The two of them walked back towards the main room. Loud voices dulled by the concrete walls met her ears and Acerola looked up at Burnet, who had apparently heard the same thing. She opened the door cautiously. A scientist was standing in the center of the room, arms held in front of herself like she was in the middle of an impassioned speech. In front of her stood two adults, who had evidently been arguing with the scientist. One was a sharp-looking older gentleman with gelled hair and a brown trenchcoat, while the other was an attractive woman around Burnet’s age with long, platinum hair. When Burnet entered the room, all three of them, the scientist and the two newcomers, turned to face her.

“What’s all this about?” Burnet asked, her hands on her hips.

“Professor Burnet, I assume?” The woman stepped forward, holding one hand up to reveal a shiny gold badge. “My name is Anabel, and this is my subordinate Looker. We’re from the International Police. May we have a word?”

* * *

Acerola leaned back in her chair, staring up at the shoddy ceiling. This particular hole-in-the-wall burger place was a little slimy, but she couldn’t deny they made good food. Her plastic plate sat empty in front of her, her trash bundled up inside it. Burnet had been quick to recommend the spot before sending her off on her own.

_International Police, huh?_

The two agents looked extremely serious when they stepped in, and they weren’t keen on letting Acerola stick around. They had questions for the Professor alone, not anyone else. They wanted the kid gone for a moment while the adults did their work.

_A kid! They referred to me as a kid!_

Acerola groaned heavily, setting her chair back down. At least there weren’t any other people around. This spot was shaded from the sun, but it was still blisteringly hot. Akala Island was so much warmer than Ula`Ula Island was, with its clear skies and bright sun. Acerola hated it.

There was no telling how long the International Police would be talking to Burnet. Hell, there was no reason _why_ the International Police would want to talk to her. Acerola fiddled with the edge of the table, where the plastic was peeling away. Years of rain and sun and hot had blistered the lining, leaving it raw and cracked. No doubt at some point the seating here had given a retro diner look to the small establishment, but years of neglect had eaten that away. She turned her head to the small window where she’d ordered her food. At least two people were in the back, chatting casually at each other.

Briefly she wondered how much it paid.

Being a Trial Captain was a convenient gig for a young trainer. Prestigious to a certain extent – all the other kids at the Aether House had been flipping out when Acerola was named – but mostly difficult work. Raising a pokemon while keeping its position as wildlife was excessively difficult to do, to the point that several captains had been lobbying to forsake the tradition altogether. It would be easier, they said, if they just operated gyms like the rest of the regions. But still, Acerola persisted at her duties. It was certainly something she could stick on a resume… right?

Though she had difficulty imagining the future she’d have as a trainer.

Acerola watched the two restaurant workers. Both locals, possibly Alolan but perhaps from many of the numerous other island nations in this part of the world. They spoke with the deep accent of local pidgin, laying it on just a bit thicker here than they did back on Ula`Ula Island. Both of them looked to be in their twenties or thirties, their skin pitted and scarred. Did they own pokemon? Most likely not. They were expensive to own, time consuming to train, and difficult to handle. So many young people got into the hobby because they had the free time, but for working adults…

Acerola looked down at her own belt and sighed. Five Ultra Balls, their iconic black and yellow shining in the sunlight. She’d been an oddity walking down the streets of Heahea City. Sure, there were trainers here and there, their expressions bright and optimistic, with two or three balls at their belts. Most people had none. If they did own a pokemon, it was a pet they kept at home.

Letting Sable out at Nanu’s house was the first time since staying with Ilima that she’d let out any pokemon. She knew time didn’t pass for the pokemon while they were in their balls, but still she wondered if the experience was unpleasant at all.

“One of these days I’ll ask a professor about it,” Acerola said to herself, standing quickly. She walked over to the window and flashed a quick smile to the workers while she put a few more dollars in their tip jar. One of the workers thanked her and Acerola was off.

She took a meandering path back to the Dimensional Institute, passing through the back alleys of several buildings. There were always shady people here, but it didn’t worry her too much. Not a lot of people would mess with a trainer for fear of what pokemon they owned. Even a small one could be extremely dangerous.

Cracked concrete walls, stacks of boxes or refuse, then randomly empty lots with brown, dying grass filling the space. The backstreets of Heahea City weren’t all that pleasing to the eye. Alola was commonly marketed as a paradise, bringing in droves of people to vacation here. They didn’t usually see the spots like this. No tour guide would show them the massive homeless communities, the drug dens, the run-down and dilapidated buildings.

She stared at a homeless man curled up in the shade of one building, cardboard underneath him. He reeked of body odor. His skin was rough and scarred from years of sitting in the sun. His few belongings were stacked against the wall behind him and covered with a ratty cloth – anyone who wanted to steal from him would have to step over him to do so. He was very dark, and obviously Alolan.

Acerola looked at the man for a long while. In her mind she heard the voice of the man on the news again.

_Our people need a king!_

“Well, why not recruit Ilima, then?” Acerola spitefully mumbled under her breath. She kept walking.

* * *

The International Police agents were in the front lobby when Acerola returned. Professor Burnet was standing with them, her tanned face suddenly paling slightly when Acerola walked in. The girl paused in the doorway, staring at the three of them uncertainly.

“Ace,” Burnet said. The urgency in her tone stopped Acerola from correcting her – only certain people were allowed to use that nickname.

“W-What is it?” she asked.

“Call Nanu now, please. Our machines tested positive on that rock you brought.” Acerola looked from Burnet to the two stern Interpol agents.

Anabel spoke first, her voice soft but firm. “I need to hear from him exactly what he saw on that mountain.”


	36. Part II: Lillie V

Koa growled as he tackled the stufful, knocking the small bear pokemon onto his back. He mewled in protest, gripping the sides of Koa's head with his front paws and trying to force him off. Koa bit into the stufful's neck, clamping down on the skin, clicking strained notes. The stufful rolled, pinning the dragon underneath him.

Lei and Lillie both watched the two pokemon as they played, Lillie with her head in her hands, leaning over the pokemon center bed, and Lei while pulling on a black tanktop in the corner of the room. Lillie tossed a glance at the girl – she'd been trying not look at her changing, even if Lei didn't seem to care – and raised an eyebrow at the black tanktop. It had a familiar design, with two straight, white lines crossing over her stomach. Try as she might, she couldn't place where she'd seen it before.

"So is it male or female?" Lei asked, now rooting around in her backpack. She picked up Sissy's pokeball and examined it for a moment before attaching it to her belt.

"Male," Lillie replied.

"You decide on a name yet?"

"I haven't." Lillie yawned heavily. She'd barely gotten any sleep the night before, and the rare few times she'd actually managed to doze off, all she could see was the twisted, bloody corpse of the mother bewear. She would jolt awake, heart racing, and Hana would growl at her angrily for waking him up yet again.

Koa gained the upper hand in the wrestling match, shoving his rocky head under the stufful's chin and forcing him back and away. His mouth clamped fully down on one of the pokemon's arms, forcing it painfully to the side. All the stufful could do was ineffectually flail, unable to pull Koa off of him. After a long moment, Koa released the stufful and retreated, letting the pokemon get to its feet.

"They like each other," Lei noted.

Lillie shook her head. "They're establishing dominance. The stufful seems resilient enough that I'm fine with him wrestling Koa. I wouldn't let Hana out at the same time as Koa, though." She didn't want Hana electrocuting the bagon, or for Koa to be too rough with the fragile mouse pokemon.

"I dunno. Looks like they just like each other to me." Lei shrugged.

Both pokemon were panting, watching each other. It could have been wariness and competitiveness, but it could just as easily have been an early start to camaraderie and friendship. Lillie had no way to know for sure.

"You ready to go?" Lei asked. Lillie nodded, grabbing up her pokeballs. Koa noticed this and growled in protest, backing away from Lillie.

"Every time…" Lillie said, exasperated. She clicked the center buttons on both balls, and the pokemon fizzled away into red. She saw Koa attempt to run to the side to get away, but to no effect. As long as the pokeball had a line of sight, there was no escaping.

"You're heading to the Fire Trial, right?" Lei asked, shouldering her small backpack. Her rifle was being held by the pokemon center downstairs. Lillie nodded. "Mind if I come along? I've always wanted to see the volcano."

"S-Sure..." Lillie replied, surprised. Lei beamed at her.

Downstairs, Lillie noticed the boy from last night was still sitting in the lobby, except instead of crying, he was laying on his side on one of the lobby couches. Lillie watched him as Lei retrieved her rifle from the front desk. He was younger than her, with dark brown hair that was rough and unwashed. His skin was very light, unusual going by the others she'd seen in the area.

Lillie picked up a brochure and thumbed through it absently, ignoring the text more than anything else. A pretty, dancing Alolan girl was plastered on the front page of the brochure, flowers in her hair, and wearing a grass skirt.  _Enjoy paradise today!_ It was an advertisement for the Hano Grand Resort on the other end of the island, of course. Wide, white sand beaches clutched against bright turquoise waters, the coastline dominated by a massive hotel complex.

Ilima had occasionally ranted about the false image the tourism industry perpetuated about Alola, usually talking about how most of the money made in large resorts worked its way back to the Unovan mainland and into the pockets of foreign business owners. Lillie wasn't sure what to think about it. Kukui had never really talked about it, and she hadn't heard about those kinds of problems on Aether Paradise, either.

The boy on the bench stirred, sitting up slowly. He stared at Lillie and she immediately looked away. In the brief moment she had to look at him, she'd noticed the large bags under his eyes. He scratched as his neck nervously before getting up and sluggishly walking to the counter. Lei had just retrieved her rifle and was walking back.

The boy bumped shoulders with Lei, knocking her back. Like a snake suddenly disturbed, Lei's anger was instant and fiery. The taller girl pushed back against the boy, expression contorted, nearly knocking him over. He looked at her, flabbergasted.

"Watch where you're walking, asshole," she snapped. The boy looked away. Lei strode to the front door, but Lillie hung back, listening as the boy approached the nurse.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she heard the nurse say, and the boy just nodded.

* * *

"Wonder what his problem was."

Lei walked with a relaxed gait, her gun slung over one shoulder. She didn't carry much with her besides that, just a simple knapsack that apparently contained one change of clothes. When questioned about how she expected to camp on the way to Wela National Park, Lei just shrugged and said she'd sleep on the grass.

Not that Lillie was in a more advantageous state. The only belongings she had left were her backpack, her pokemon, barely any clothes, and some canned food.

_I'm_ _almost_ _out of cash_ _too._

The two girls passed the familiar white rock, the same old man lazing about in the sun, staring off into the distance. His wrinkled face was tight with concentration, and his posture was such that Lillie wasn't entirely convinced the man had moved at all. He didn't so much as glance at Lillie as she passed by.

_I wonder if I'll run into that Mike guy again._

An image of Hana's torn ear brought a swell of anger to her.

"What about something cool, like 'Killer'?"

"Huh?" Lillie turned to her walking partner. The other girl's green eyes had a curious glint to them.

"A name. For the stufful."

"Maybe not that." Lillie smirked. "I'll have to think of something."

If the pokemon was aware, or cared, that Lillie killed his mother, he certainly didn't show it. He'd been out of his pokeball most of the morning, either wrestling with Koa or meandering about, exploring his surroundings. Despite the ferocity of the mother, the son seemed to possess a calm demeanor, and was not at all fearful. It only took an hour for him to start nuzzling into Lillie's lap.

_Am I his mother now?_

She dismissed the thought. Not that she was the most familiar with the species, but Kukui had always told her that imprinting in pokemon usually happened in infancy. The stufful, however, seemed to have no intention of causing any problems.

Lillie locked her hands behind her head, staring down the road ahead of her. The sun was covered in a thin blanket of gray clouds, hidden from view. It was just a mite too hot for her tastes. Lei had the right idea with her blank tanktop and white shorts, and Lillie had followed suit. She wore a gray t-shirt, one of Acerola's, and black shorts.

Ironically, the only other shirt she had now was the black halter-top she'd been refusing to wear. The most daring of the articles Acerola had pushed off onto her, and now it was her only change of clothes. Not that it was  _that_ bad, since the only skin it exposed was her upper back, but the thought still grated at her.

_And so what? It's just_ _skin._

Mother wouldn't have agreed with that justification.

She stared up at the slopes of Mauna Wela to her right, at the deep green covering its northernmost face. Layers upon layers of ever-shifting leaves, the distance tricking her eyes into seeing them lie flat against the land. Further up the mountain, over a mile up in elevation, the forest abruptly cut away, leaving it bare of any vegetation.

Somewhere in the forest, Hunters may well be examining the corpse of the mother bewear, taking genetic samples and recording as much information as they could. If the mother had other stufful pups, they'd likely be capturing them.

_Kahili wasn't a Hunter. Her father was. I wonder what she was doing out here?_

Lillie remembered one of Kukui's many lectures about Alola. Growing up in Aether Paradise hadn't left her supremely informed about the region, and Kukui had been very generous in answering her many questions.

On the Internet and in so many of her books, there were always mentions of Rangers, yet Alola was a region specifically bereft of them. When he heard the question, Kukui had thought about it for a moment, one hand gently stroking the light stubble of his jaw as if he wasn't completely certain of the reason.

_Pokemon Rangers are quite prevalent in Unova, so I suppose it is a little odd that they're absent from Alola, especially because we're forced to abide by so many Unovan laws. Perhaps it's because their job is generally taken by the Hunter's Association?_

It was all he'd said, and Lillie hadn't pressed further, distracted by some other happening. She sighed, wishing she'd paid more attention and had asked a more specific question.

The two girls paused where the small road leading from the pokemon center led onto the wider, more developed roadway. There weren't a lot of cars at all, but there were certainly a number of people. Trainers, some walking with pokemon out, others alone or in small groups. Some carried umbrellas, others chatted along parked cars or carried ice chests. A few looked ready to go hiking into the mountains. They were of numerous different skin tones, though Lillie noticed with some embarrassment that none of them were nearly as pale as she was. Alolan boys and girls, men and women, mixed with many people from the Eastern Archipelago.

_The East is a culturally diverse region, one I'd argue is much more complex than Unova._ _The_ _Johto, Kanto, Sinnoh, and Hoenn_ _regions_ _compose the bulk of the Eastern Archipelago, and they had significant emigration into Alola during the Plantation Era._ _M_ _ost_ _of the population of Alola is Eastern in origin,_ _rather than Alolan._

Every so often she would see an Unovan mixed in, but they were all quite tanned and certainly in the minority. Lillie bit her lip as she realized that with her white skin and bright blonde hair, she stuck out quite noticeably. She cast a brief glance to her companion, who stared at the people with barely concealed irritation. Her red hair was tied back in a ponytail, and her green eyes surveyed the people suspiciously.

_Is she Alolan? It's hard to tell._ _She's certainly tanned enough..._

She opened her mouth to ask, but Lei cut her off.

"There were less people here yesterday," she said, folding her arms. "Probably because it's the weekend. It'd be weird to just walk through with a gun, but I guess we don't have a choice."

Lillie didn't respond. She stepped forward, lowering her hands and fiddling with the edges of her shorts. There really  _were_  a lot of people. She turned her head back to the white rock. The old man was still facing the same direction as always. A bit past him, she could see the pokemon center nestled against a hill, the ocean past that.

But what caught her eye was none of those things. A boy, all dressed in black, was running towards them, his expression desperate.

"Come on, Lillie," Lei said, touching her shoulder. Lillie nodded, turning back to the road.

"Wait!" A voice shouted from behind. The boy ran around them, stopping in front of them both.

He was several years younger than Lillie was, and shorter too. He gasped for air and Lei paused, examining him. There was evidently something displeasing about him, as Lei scowled and turned her head slightly, obvious in her intent to seem disinterested.

"You're the brat from the pokemon center," Lei said finally. The boy stood up straight, brushing some brown hair away from his eyes. He couldn't have been older than ten or eleven.

Lillie folded her arms uncomfortably, waiting for the boy to speak. After a long moment he caught his breath and stood up straight, looking at them both.

"My name… my name is Tristan, and I need your help..." The boy tossed his head up suddenly, looking dead into Lillie's eyes. A fire burned deep below, betraying a resolve that came wholly unexpected, that washed over her. For just a moment, she saw Gladion again when he turned and walked away. "I need to get my revenge."

* * *

"I'm from Iki Town, actually."

Tristan kept looking around, furtively assessing their surrounds again and again and again. He sat opposite the two girls, hunched over – heavy, like an old man with a failing back – and withdrawn. His eyes still hadn't lost that determined, distant stare, even an hour later. The three trainers sat alone at a park bench in what the signs called an "approved camping ground".

"This is where the haoles say we can camp?" Lei had spat the moment she saw the sign. "I'd rather fight a bewear again."

And yet, despite the protest, she had followed Lillie and Tristan in.

"Iki Town?" Lillie asked, surprised at the familiar name. "Did you know a girl named Luna?"

"No, but I heard of her," Tristan said. "She's the girl that died, right? Her mom went a bit nuts after, before she left for Kanto. My mom always got a bit sad when she talked about her."

Lillie bit her lip. She remembered Luna's blank face as she slipped beneath the rapids. There had been a rough calmness, completely uninterrupted by the horrific events unfolding around her, as if Luna had been held in a trance. The two girls had gazed at each other, one above and one below, and then suddenly the morbid stare had been broken.

"Luna?" Lei perked up. The girl's eyes narrowed, as if surprised. Lillie looked at her companion briefly before turning back to the boy.

"What did you want our help for?" Lillie asked impatiently.

For a moment, the boy looked at her. His brown eyes were dark, almost black. He was somewhat pudgy, possessing an awkward bearing that felt as if it belonged to a frame larger than the kid had. Not at all skinny, but it'd be difficult to call him overweight. His cheeks bulged like a baby's, and Lillie would have found it endearing had it belonged to a boy half his age.

"My magby, he..." The boy's eyes glistened, as if he was just about to cry. Instead, Tristan straightened his back and held his head high. "He died. Another trainer killed him in a battle and then stole my tauros. I've only got my emolga now."

"Another trainer killed your pokemon?" Lillie asked, taken aback. She thought back to the battle between Acerola and Ilima, how Ace's dhelmise had nearly torn itself in half to defeat Ilima's snorlax.

"I was… I was weak." Tristan's gaze lowered. "I made the wrong call. It's my own fault, but I… I can't just let it go. I want my revenge, but my emolga is too weak. She can't possibly be enough. My tauros and magby were the strong ones..."

"Then why not go to the police?" Lei stated, clearly dismissive. Lillie grit her teeth, stopping a instinctive, snapping response.

"My brother already did." Tristan shook his head. "Mike said he'd handle it, but… but I don't think he can. He's not that good of a trainer. And mom's too sick to deal with this kind of thing, so she… she doesn't know. There's no point in telling her."

 _Mike?_ Lillie shook her head. It couldn't be the same guy.

Lei emitted a low growl, shrugging off her gun. Lillie watched the older girl as she ran one hand through her shoulder-length red hair. She paused, holding back one half of her hair, staring down at Tristan like he was a gnat on a wall. Her upturned sneer, the defiant glint in her eyes… Tristan seemed to shrink in the face of it.

"Why should we help you with  _anything?_ " Lei snarled, running her hands slowly along the park bench, each parallel to the other. The motion was slow, reminiscent of an arbok winding up before a strike.

"Lei," Lillie said, surprising herself with the hardness in her tone. Lei turned to her, eyes wide as if caught off guard. Lillie felt her resolve weaken. "L-let's at least hear him out."

Lei stared at Lillie for a long while before hanging her head, waving her hand and falling silent as if giving her permission. Lillie smiled gratefully and turned back to the boy as he sat anxiously in his seat. Lillie nodded at him and he spoke, his speech a stammering, messy mash of words at first.

"It-it-it w-was near Wela National Park, where the main road up the mountain is. There's a bus that will take you up to the summit there, you know? I-I-I was waiting for my brother. He said he was gonna be there, but he was late. I was playing with my magby and these three guys came up. They wanted my magby. One of them kept pressuring me to trade with his zubat, but I didn't want to, so they… they tried to fight me. It was three on one and… and they killed him and then stole my tauros."

"I'm sorry," Lillie said. "What did they look like?"

"They had..." Tristan looked at Lei for a moment. "They had dark tanktops like hers. Really similar designs, actually. And they wore white beanies and… and… they talked really rough, you know? I can't… I don't know how else to describe them. They were Alolan, I guess. Maybe."

"Maybe?" Lillie asked.

"I'm not sure, honestly." Tristan looked at them both, his expression serious. "Will you two help me?"

* * *

"Should we?" Lillie whispered to Lei. The other girl leaned against the tree, looking off into the forest surrounding the approved camping zone. She hadn't said much since Tristan told his story, instead folding her arms and withdrawing.

"No. We should just keep heading to the Fire Trial." Lei stared at Lillie, her expression hard. Her bubbly and kind demeanor from this morning had completely faded away, replaced with a roughness that Lillie wholly didn't expect.

"But they killed his magby–"

"Let the police handle it," Lei said firmly. "If they killed Tristan's pokemon, they'll kill yours too. I didn't save you from a fucking bewear just so you can go get stabbed by a bunch of thugs."

"But–"

"Forget about it, Lillie," Lei snapped. "You're just a little girl. There are things out there that are completely beyond you. Even as a trainer, even with pokemon, you can't solve everything."

Lillie stared at the ground between her feet, wringing her hands. Absently, she wondered when she'd started the habit. She felt the raw uncertainty in her chest eating at her. She  _was_ powerless, and so was Tristan. But leaving it all to the police…

"Logically, we should leave it to the authorities," Lillie started, raising her head and looking into Lei's eyes. "There's no reason we should help."

"Exactly, so let's–"

"And, logically, there was no reason for you to save me from that bewear," Lillie said, cutting Lei off. "You were in danger too – once that bewear was done mauling me, he would have attacked you. If you had missed two, maybe even one, of those shots, we'd both be dead. You took an enormous risk to yourself when the rational thing was for you to run. How is this any different?"

"'How is this any  _different?'_ " Lei repeated, scowling, walking towards Lillie, her expression dark. "Are you an idiot?"

"Maybe." Lillie lifted her head up, keeping her gaze level with Lei's, not looking away no matter how much she wanted to – and  _god_ , did she want to. Lei's emerald eyes were like stone, observing her coolly. The other girl's body was tense, as if she was about to lash out at any moment.

After a long moment, Lei's shoulders drooped and the older girl looked away. Lillie released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"They could be dangerous thugs," Lei said finally. "Or they could just be idiot kids that wanted a rare pokemon and didn't think their actions through. But we don't know that for sure. It's stupid to just go charging in. Really, we should just let the police deal with it–"

"And by the time they get out there, take statements, and start an investigation, Tristan's tauros will be dead or the thugs will be gone." Lillie shook her head. "We're already on our way to Wela. We can help him."

Lei exhaled heavily, hanging her head.

"You're gonna be the death of me."


	37. Part II: Gladion II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I actually wound up drastically changing where I was going with this chapter, and then my computer crashed and I lost the new document. Had to start almost from scratch. I'm still trying to shoot for a once a week update schedule.
> 
> One important note: I've removed the previous Gladion chapter, the one where he wakes up in that box. I've opted instead to have a couple more chapters more in the same vein as Chapter 33.

He stood atop a tall, dark tower.

Moonlight burned into his skin, the smell of it curling his nose.He stood transfixed, staring down at the gray landscape far below. A dirty, earthen color up close, but here, so high in the air, the gray of the statues of men colored the image. He raised one finger as if to gesture at them.

It was then that the mountain finally caught his eye.

It sat at the edge of the world, a lone mound, the only imperfection in the miles and miles of flat and gray. Nearly hidden behind a layer of mist, it towered impossibly high above him – despite the immense distance – lumbering tall and dark and wide. He could not discern the color of it.

And it stared with empty, dead eyes.

At first panic swelled within him as he was dragged to the earth. He could not look away; it would not let him. He struggled and the moonlight seared his skin and he screamed. His feet brushed the earth, the tower he stood on long since fading away.

Bulbous and amorphous and all around him, the mountain watched.

He saw now for the first time the detail of the statues of men. They surrounded him, taking many forms. Two arms and two legs, some tall and others tiny, intricate bodies etched into the stone. The age of a few showed, the gentle wind having eroded them untilall that remained was their outstretched arms and empty eyes.

They pointed to the mountain in the distance, their gazes fixed in place.

The statues wore many faces. Young, old, hideous, or wretched, each one pocked with wear. The newer statuesbore the same expression, with wide open mouths in exultant, feral acceptance. Thin lines of liquid dripped from their teeth. The older ones worshiped serenely with open palms and welcoming demeanors.

On the oldest faces only empty eyes stared back – no other detail remained.

He raised his arms now, seeing only the mountain now. He felt his jaw slack as his mouth fell open. As he stood there, unmoving, saliva pooled against his tongue, thin lines dripping down over his chin. He smiled radiantly.

A white dress fluttered in the corner of his eye, and his trance broke, and he floundered about, confused. Voices tore at the edge of his perception, hundreds of conversations he’d never had, memories he couldn’t recognize.

He saw her face in a million different ways.

It was then that a scene filled his mind, one he would never live through, for it belonged in a far better world.

* * *

“Big brother, do you believe in god?”

“God?”

“Yeah.”

“What brings this up?”

“School. In social studies, we’re learning about the Eastern Region religions. It’s pretty neat! They worship a lot of pokemon there.”

“Worshiping pokemon? That’s a little absurd.”

“Well, it makes sense, right?”

“How?”

“Imagine you’re a samurai running around the landscape several hundred years ago and you come across an articuno. I’ve heard those pokemon are so powerful they can influence the weather and cause blizzards. You’d want to keep it happy, right?”

“I suppose so, yeah. But what does that have to do with believing in a god?”

“Well, some of the things we were learning about were the sinnoh region religions. Apparently they believe a pokemon exists there that can recreate the world.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Why is that?”

“That’s not like growing spines to better defend yourself or becoming a faster swimmer to escape from prey. What kind of creature would develop the ability to recreate the universe? Where would the power come from?”

“Isn’t that why they’re worshiped as gods? Because they aren’t understood? The samurai coming across an articuno that can start blizzards wouldn’t understand how the pokemon did it.”

“Yeah, but we do understand how articuno do that.”

“Now.”

“My point is: the mechanism makes sense. Articuno can rapidly radiate and then circulate cold air over large areas by inducing radical temperature drops with its large wingspan. The blizzard it creates are very localized and short-lived, and we understand it’s for hunting and for escaping from aerial competition.”

“But the samurai didn’t understand that, so he’s justified in calling it god, isn’t he?”

“But it _isn’t_ a god just because the samurai doesn’t understand it. Calling it that doesn’t make it so, sister.”

“You sound like Dad.”

“You sound like Mom.”

“I asked Dad about this earlier and he just mumbled stuff about relative perspectives and the power of science.”

“Sounds like him.”

“He never really looks away from his research, huh?”

“Yeah… Did he ever explain any of it to you?”

“Mm-hmm! Stuff about walking and boxes and higher spatial dimensions. I think I kinda get it, but it’s a lot to take in. It’s been years since he first started rambling about it. Mom’s vetoed several of his more dangerous experiments though.”

“Hey, do _you_ believe in a god?”

“That was my question to you! Don’t just turn this around on your sister.”

“You brought it up! It makes sense to ask you.”

“Hmm… I understand that pokemon like articuno, entei, or groudon aren’t gods. They’re extremely rare, usually associated with mythology, and are very powerful, but science has mostly come to understand them since their discovery.”

“Rediscovery, you mean.”

“Right. Hoenn got hit pretty hard by those strange weather patterns. I’d heard about it in school. Wasn’t that like ten years ago now?”

“More than that. I think you were a baby at the time.”

“I guess… it scares me. That there might be something out there that we wouldn’t be able to understand. Dad talks about stuff like this too, but he seems convinced there’s a logic behind it. A science. And yet they’ve never been able to get a clear picture of this Ultra Space or anything that supposedly lives there.”  
“Dad says that’s because Mom keeps stopping him from doing the ‘most encouraging’ experiments.”

“Most dangerous, you mean.”

“Yeah… Anyway, you were talking about being scared?”

“If we assume the legends of Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina are true. Then pokemon exist on this planet that can recreate the entire universe. Isn’t that a bit extreme? The universe is _enormous_. It’s impossible for humans to really understand exactly how big it is. Our own sun can fit over a million Earths in it, and our sun is _tiny_ compared to some of the other stars out there. And a pokemon could destroy all that? It has to be a lie, right? An exaggeration.”

“So you don’t believe in a god?”

“Not as a physical, living creature that exists on this planet, no.”

“So then you don’t buy into the idea of pokemon worship. But you just said earlier that it was interesting.”

“It is! Perspective is valid, because perspective informs reality. Even if it’s not objective truth, we can only ever attempt to find objective truth through an imperfect lens – our perception.”

“You’ve been listening to Mom a _lot._ ”

“Well, okay, sure, we know that articuno isn’t a god because we have science and decades of research and lots of information to tell us that it isn’t. But a samurai four hundred years ago doesn’t know that. All he sees is mystical god bird, and all he will ever know is a mystical god bird. There is no mechanism present yet for him to understand it’s not a god. So it may as well be one at that time.”  
“I suppose that makes sense. It’s a flawed interpretation of objective reality.”

“But if pokemon worshipers are worshiping a _concept,_ the idea of a bird-god, even if it actually isn’t one, then how is that different from worshiping a classical ‘god’?”

“You’re talking an intangible, omnipotent figure now?”

“Not necessarily.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Big brother, consider Palkia or Dialga or Giratina. Suppose these pokemon exist, but suppose they exist with the level of mythological powers that are commonly given to them.”

“If they did, wouldn’t that debacle in Sinnoh have destroyed our planet already? That crazy cult leader Cyrus threw together a giant ritual on top of that mountain and nothing happened. No recreated universe. The only thing that changed is that his organization saw he was a lunatic and disbanded.”

“If he had destroyed the universe, would we even know it? If it had been recreated by the powers of some higher intelligence, would we even understand that it happened?”

“Sure, yeah, we can _say_ that, but you’re making the same logical claim that nothing had happened at all.”

“What do you mean?”

“One of two events occur. Both ultimately have the exact same outcome, and it is impossible to tell which event took place. How would it be wise to assume the less likely, more wild and convoluted event occurred? Even if it did, if nothing else was changed as a direct result and there’s no tangible evidence of the event occurring, then what’s the meaning of saying it happened? It’s the same as saying that all of existence came into being four seconds ago, and we just sprung into being with all our previous memories, thinking that we actually lived beforehand even though we didn’t.”  
“You’re dipping into philosophy.”  
“No, the counterargument begs a philosophical underpinning because you have to reach in order to doubt the simpler solution.”

“Maybe I listen to Mom a lot, but you _really_ listen to Dad a lot.”

“Philosophy isn’t science.”

“I know it isn’t. But if human cognition and perception is inherently flawed, then sure, we can attempt to understand deeper meaning in consistent, logical fashions using mathematics and science, but we have to make a few assumptions first.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“First, that our eyes and ears don’t lie. That the information that our brain is interpreting actually exists in the form that we are seeing it.”

“Explain that to me.”

“We could be brains floating in a vat while aliens pump electrical signals into us that trick us into thinking we’re experiencing reality. I could be the only conscious, thinking thing in existence and everything else around me is a mental construct that I created. In that case I’d be a prisoner, or a god, or… something.”

“But you’re not, and this is the same argument as before. Why assume the more complicated solution if there’s no evidence for it?”

“I’m not disagreeing. We assume that we are interpreting at least some level of objective reality. We assume, to an extent, that what we see and hear and feel can be trusted.”

“You left out smell and taste.”

“Because we suck at it.”

“Well, yeah, I guess so. We’re not growlithes.”

“But that’s part of my point. Growlithes are able to experience objective reality differently because they have highly specialized organs that allow them to do so. Smells are much more important to their perception than it is for ours. Most humans can’t tell people apart by smell.”

“Right.”

“Likewise, humans have better developed eyesight. We see the world better, and they smell the world better.”

“Right.”

“So what if there’s something out that we can’t really… see? Like, because our eyes are just not sensitive enough, or maybe because we lack the appropriate organ. Would you be able to call that hypothetical existence a god?”

“Just because we can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there. There could be other ways to interact with it, and if we can interact with it then we can extract data and understand it. It wouldn’t be a god.”

“So all that’s required to discredit something as a deity is that you can physically experience it?”

“Well, yeah. Do you remember that anime about a wolf girl who traveled with a merchant during medieval times?”

“Yeah!”

“The wolf girl was commonly called a ‘god’ in the show, right? She had wolf ears and a tail, and she could transform into a massive wolf if they were ever in danger. She had also lived for several centuries. You’re right when you say medieval societies would label something that they don’t understand as a ‘god’. The wolf girl was branded a ‘god’, and she even claimed to be one in the show. However, she’s depicted as being mortal, albeit long-lived, and has family. It’s more likely she was simply a more powerful, rarer species that was poorly understood.”

“Brother, it’s just an anime.”

“But it relates to this problem. So you’re saying that the wolf girl was a god?”

“In a medieval-level society, sure. In a modern society, perhaps not.”

“At this point I suppose the difference in our viewpoint is just in the labeling. So then what about higher-power, transcendent god figures?”

“What about them?”

“Do you believe one could exist?”

“I...”

“You look troubled.”

“You know how I mentioned the idea of Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina having those kinds of mythological powers was scary?”

“Yeah.”

“The fear comes from the fact that we may _not_ be able to understand it. Like I said earlier, we might not even be biologically equipped to do so. It could be infinitely more powerful than we are. If it was to turn its attention to us, I imagine it would be easy to simply swat us out of existence.”

“But why assume such a thing exists if it worries you?”

“Brother, you mentioned earlier that there was no reason to pick the more complicated answer. I’ve heard that phrase before a lot, especially from Dad, and when I was learning about Sinnoh today in school, I realized that… the complicated answer is what Dad has been working on.”

“What do you mean?”

“What if those things he talked about actually exist?”

“Mom called them Ultra Beasts.”

“Could one of those be a god?”

“I… don’t know.”

“Well, let’s break the idea down logically, just like Dad does. Suppose the Ultra Beasts don’t exist. Then there’s nothing to worry about and this conversation is pointless.”

“And if they do exist…?”  
“If they do exist, well… how do they see humans? Do they see us as antagonistic? As a threat or a stranger, maybe? Or maybe we’re beneath its notice, maybe too powerless to even have one devote its attention to us?”

“Remember how Dad mentioned that Ultra Beasts saw a fourth dimension? The ‘w’ dimension, as he said. He said that the Ultra Beasts would be able to see other versions of us, other ‘universes’, like sheets of paper stacked on top of one another. Presumably the other versions of me aren’t all doing the same thing as I am right now, so would the Ultra Beast have a better idea of who we are as people because they can see so many different sides of us?”

“Or maybe they have an even worse perspective, brother.”

“What do you mean?”

“When we see an ant crossing the kitchen counter, we often don’t think of the individual ant unless we’re trying to squash it. Usually we think of _groups_ of ants: trails, swarms, or colonies. We think about the objective the ants have, about how we might be able to learn about ant biology, and how we can learn about other colonies of ants. However, we genuinely do not care about one single individual ant. We either kill it or ignore it. Oftentimes we simply lose sight of the ant a moment later if it’s with others of its own species.”

“So you’re saying that the ability to see a larger picture, a more complete version of reality, implies that you wouldn’t care to see the very small, fine details?”

“It’s possible the Ultra Beasts can’t see us as individuals in the first place. It might not even recognize us as sentient in any meaningful capacity if it’s able to see and understand _every possible action we can take._ ”

“Give me an example. I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Alright. Hmm...”

“What’s with the grin?”  
“Imagine we’re at a restaurant with that girl you recently met.”

“W-w-whatever do you mean?”

“You know who I mean, brother. The one who just moved here from the Eastern Regions. The really good pokemon trainer that even Mom and Dad were impressed by. The one you were _flirting_ with in Hau`oli City.”

“I-I-I-I wasn’t flirting with her! We’re just friends!”  
“Oh, but you two talk on the phone an _awful lot_ to just be friends.”

“A-Anyway! You were telling me to imagine we were at a restaurant.”

“Right. So the three of us are eating and having a good time. We’re about to leave and everyone’s standing up and suddenly you get this really strong urge to make-out with her right then and there. Of course, you don’t because you’re about as courageous as a wimpod.”  
“Hey!”  
“But maybe there is an Ultra Beast who just happened to be observing that situation. It’s possible it isn’t just observing that one single instance. It’s possible it’s observing _all possible_ instances of that scenario. Maybe in some of them you muster up the nerve to kiss her. Maybe in others you trip and fall and make a fool of yourself. Maybe in a few here and there she slaps you because you’re weird. And maybe–”

“I’m starting to see a pattern here I don’t like...”

“And maybe in some you actually pull it off right and the girl reciprocates. And maybe in other versions, I jump her instead and you’re actually more interested in the strapping young waiter...”

“Lillie!”

“So the Ultra Beast is observing all of these. Instead of forming judgments and making observations about one single individual, it instead perceives thousands or millions or even more versions of a similar individual making somewhat similar decisions with potentially different outcomes. It wouldn’t care about _you_ , the version that’s standing in front of me right now gawking at how smart his little sister is. It wouldn’t care about any individual version or outcome. It would be analyzing the statistics, the individual outcomes, the _colony_ of ants instead of the individual.”

“I… I suppose you’re right. If Dad’s hypothetical Ultra Beasts exist, it’s certainly a possibility that they don’t see us as individuals. Actually, rather, it’s possible it _can’t_.”

“Take, for example, there’s a reality where you’re awkwardly shoving your tongue down that poor girl’s throat and–”

“Lovely.”

“–and you slip and fall and crack your head open and die.”

“Ouch.”

“To the Ultra Beast, _you_ are not dead. There’s still so many other versions of you that’s happily doing what you were doing. One individual version may be dead and gone, but there’s still so much information that exists about you that it can learn. In fact, a drastic circumstance would allow the Ultra Beast to gain information on me or the other girl if we’re actually its primary focus.”

“I… you’re completely right. People wouldn’t be ‘living’ or ‘dead’. It’s more like we become points of data, and the important essence of who we are would be our contribution to this higher-dimensional image. That’s… weird.”

“There could be versions of us out there that had to deal with losing each other, or Mom and Dad. I could be dead in some other version of the world, and there’s no way for me to be able to know. I could be miserable or hurt or crying right now, somewhere else. My life could be in danger.”

“Or you could be talking to your brother about philosophy and impossible scenarios. Don’t worry about it so much. Life is great. Why bother worrying about things you can’t control?”

“I know. It’s just… I know it’s all conjecture. The nature of these sorts of things limits our ability to talk about strict facts.”

“This makes me want to ask Dad again about his research again.”

“Yeah…”

* * *

His eyes were empty, his expression open in its exultance. He could see her screaming at the edge of his vision, but that didn’t matter now. The lumbering mountain swelled and bellowed, and he felt the images leave his mind.


	38. Part II: Lillie VI

****The bus screeched to a halt, the air breaks releasing loudly in a high-pitched squeal. A calm, masculine voice spoke through cleverly hidden speakers.

 _Route 35. Wela National Park. Route 35._ _Wela National Park._

Lillie groaned inwardly as she paid the fare – it’s not like it was a lot of money, but she wasn’t exactly rolling in money. Lei, who got on first, immediately walked towards the back of the bus. It was nearly empty, with only a couple of people spaced around it. Lillie waited for Tristan as he paid the fair, dropping a few coins in the process. He swore, fumbling about on the floor for them, and the bus driver waited patiently. Lillie smiled sympathetically at him once Tristan straightened himself, and he blushed furiously, staring at the floor.

Lei had chosen the back row, slouching and kicking her feet up onto the two perpendicular seats immediately in front of her. Lillie sat sideways on the other set, pressing herself onto the back of the empty seats in front of them. Tristan sat between the two of them, not too close to either one, his arms folded tight against his stomach. He stared at the floor.

The bus lurched forward. Several other trainers had gotten onto the bus as well, but not nearly enough to fill the vehicle. The engines roared loudly in her ears, but Lillie could still just make out a few other loud conversations between some of the other groups of people.

_Today’s the day I beat the Fire Trial._

_I’m sure I can get a fletchling._

_What’s the point of doing this? I always wind up failing._

Tristan was quiet, as if he was listening to the other conversations as well. Lei stared at Lillie, the two girls locking gazes for a long moment. Lillie opened her mouth to talk, but closed it. What was there to say?

Lei sighed heavily, running one hand through her vibrant red hair.

“The Volcano Park is on the other side of the island, you know,” Lei said, her voice rough, almost confrontational. “It’s gonna be a while just to get to the gate where Tristan’s thugs are supposed to be.”

“An hour, at least,” Lillie said, agreeing.

“We still have a chance to just ignore the whole thing, you know?” Lei said. Tristan looked up at her, his expression betrayed. “You could just stay on the bus, continue on up into the National Park, and do the Fire Trial. Easy as that.”

“There’s no point trying to convince me not to help him,” Lillie said.

Lei glared at her, her green eyes narrowed and cold, but didn’t respond.

“I mean… I… I appreciate the help,” Tristan said, looking down at the floor of the bus. “I guess… I guess I just want my tauros back. If we can do that without causing any issues, that would probably be for the best.”

“What happened to all that talk about revenge?” Lei sneered, casting a glare at the boy, who seemed to visibly crumple. “You talked so passionately earlier about it. Where’d all that energy go?”  
“Lei, stop it,” Lillie said, perhaps more forcefully than she intended. The other girl glared at her for a moment before her expression softened.

After a long moment, Lei spoke, her voice barely audible.

“You should have just gone to the Fire Trial.”

* * *

“I know, he looks like he’s supposed to be really cute, huh?” Lillie laughed, stroking the back of Hana’s head. “But he’s actually a bit rude, especially to Koa.”

The pichu curled up in her lap, angrily twitching his ears as Lillie stroked the back of his head. Electricity occasionally sparked at his cheeks, but the pokemon never actually shocked her.

_Ilima’s training must have had a lasting impact on him._

She remembered the tiny electric mouse pokemon scrambling across the sand, only to be dragged back in a yungoos’s jaws, again and again and again. Ilima had ensured that the pokemon understood it would never escape.

“Lots of people really like the pikachu evolutionary line, you know,” Tristan said, a hint of awe in his voice. “There are pageants and contests exclusive for them, and I heard there are even people trying to establish different breeds for pedigree reasons. Some Alolan-variety raichu sell for thousands of dollars, and then there’s that pikachu celebrity Chuuster!”

He hesitantly reached for the mouse pokemon, but Hana swung his head around, growling at the boy. Tristan retracted quickly.

“I know,” Lillie said, flicking Hana’s tail. “Hana’s not exactly the prettiest pichu out there, though. I don’t think he’ll be winning any popularity contests, not with his ear shredded like this.”

“Yeah...” Tristan watched Hana carefully, and the pokemon turned about, dismissing him entirely. “D-do you ever feel guilty?”

“About what?” Lillie asked, looking up at Tristan. The boy met her gaze for only a moment, before turning down the floor, blushing fiercely.

“N-nevermind.”

“No, really,” Lillie pressed, leaning forward. Hana hopped out of her lap, chirping an annoyed tone and running up to her shoulder. “Are you talking about your magby?”

“...yes.”

“That wasn’t your fault,” Lillie insisted. “It… it sucks, but you can’t blame yourself for what happened. You weren’t the one who killed him. It was...” Lillie trailed off, surprised by her own outburst. Tristan was still looking firmly at the floor of the bus.

“It still feels like my fault,” he said, his voice quiet.

Lillie sat back, unsure what to say. She glanced at the tears in Hana’s ear as the pokemon sniffed at her cheek. It was a permanent injury, and one that could have been much worse. And if she was going to complete the Island Challenge, how many more dangerous battles was she supposed to endure? No, that she was demanding her pokemon to endure.

_Is it right for me to expect them to obey me?_

She knew what Ilima would say to that.

_What does that matter? They’re animals._

“So how long have you been shooting, Lei?” Tristan asked, gesturing at the rifle laying against the window. He sniffled as he attempted to drive the conversation in another direction. Lei had wrapped the gun in a long towel to stop anyone on the bus from raising any eyebrows. Lillie hadn’t been the most comfortable with the idea, but it wasn’t like she had a better one.

Lei turned her head, giving Tristan a long, blank stare, as if resenting that the boy had dared to talk to her. After a long, heavy moment, Lei sat up straight in her seat and turned towards Tristan, one eyebrow cocked and one arm leaving heavily on her outstretched legs as if she wasn’t entirely certain how committed she wanted to be to her answer.

“Since I was a kid, I guess.”

“You guess?” Lillie asked, as if on impulse.

“Yeah. My dad and my brother were both into hunting. I just kinda got dragged along into it too. I wasn’t a huge fan, honestly.”

“You’re a huge enough fan to carry around a gun now!” Tristan said, chuckling awkwardly. Lei just stared at him.

“Yeah, I suppose I am.” She turned back so that she was facing out the window again.

Silence.

“W-well, uh,” Lillie scrambled over her words as she attempted to inject some life into the faltering conversation. “What about you, Tristan? Why did you wind up out in Akala Island? You mentioned you were from Iki Town.”

Tristan brushed a lock of dark hair back. He really was young, a kid, though the emotion present on his face was something Lillie felt no kid should have to face.

 _I saw the same expression on Gladion_ _…_ _a_ _nd Mother, too._

“It’s just an animal, you know?” Lei said, and Tristan raised his head. “You never lost a pet before? Probably had a pretty easy life, then.”

“He wasn’t just a pet...”

“You’ll get over it, Tristan.” Lei waved one hand. “Give it a few weeks. You’ll be back to new.”

Lillie shivered and reached for her backpack. The air conditioning in the bus was far too cold – probably a relief for many of the other beach-goers and hikers who had spent the entire morning out in the sun, but not for her. She reached for her backpack, rooting around for her white hoodie and Kukui’s old baseball hat, putting them both on and huddling up in her corner. Hana danced around her movements before settling back into her lap.

The atmosphere between Tristan and Lei had grown tense, and Lillie retreated from it, clutching her arms tight against her chest and staring out the window. Strands of her blonde hair poked annoyingly from under her hat, brushing against her face and tickling her cheeks. She brushed them aside as she tried to settle in for the bus trip.

Outside, the coast meandered by – buses in Alola, especially those passing through tourist destinations like here, weren’t exactly the quickest. Long, white sand beaches would shift to tall, wide, and green forests at a moment’s notice, only to fall away again to tall cliff faces that stood starkly against relentless crashing waves. Miles out she could see the occasional burst of water as wailmer and wailord surfaced. Most of the beaches weren’t too populated, but there were always a few people. Some battled, their pokemon fiercely wrestling in the sand. Others relaxed, spread out on beach towels or underneath umbrellas. Occasionally on the cliffs she could see other kids – high schoolers, most likely – that leaped off the sides, plunging into the water below. Some would do flips, while others would curl up and scream as they fell.

Lillie felt an uncertain tightness as she recalled Professor Kukui. He loved their outings to the north end of Melemele Island, where “da bestest beaches” were. Lillie had never wanted to sit out under the sand with him and Burnet, so instead she’d cower under their umbrellas and read or use a laptop. Occasionally one of them would drag her towards the water, insisting that she get some exercise.

They’d always get poke afterwards – her favorite, the spicy ahi, had been something of a local specialty. They were constantly finding new hole-in-the-wall restaurants, each one better than the last. Kukui had vastly preferred the raw salmon, while Burnet was always trying newer, stranger variations on the classical Alolan dishes.

Her clear view out across the ocean was cut short as a hill rose to the left side of the bus. Nets had been hung out over a jagged face to hinder falling rocks, and she could see the hardy fountain grass sticking stubbornly to bare lava rock. The invasive plant had been introduced generations ago as ornamentation, and it had very quickly adapted itself to the dry Alolan lava rock fields. As the hill straightened out, giving her view over a long, flat view of bare lava rock, the stubborn and pervasive patches of the grass dominated the landscape.

She also saw the words written in white coral standing starkly against black rock. Messages from tourists and from locals written in coral lettering. One particularly large message lay against the gentle slope of a small outcropping of rock, spelling out a hopeful marriage proposal to some long-gone woman.

 _Marry me,_ _Lucy_ _!_

Lillie watched the message as it passed her by, wondering how many years it had been since the proposal had been made. She sighed, leaning her head against her knees.

Kukui had always called such messages graffiti. Though the local police was always slow to prosecute any offenders, the messages were a source of annoyance for more traditional locals. It robbed the local beaches of coral, dirtied the dark fields of dark lava, and people walking around trying to build such messages could potentially damage sites of archaeological significance.

Burnet hadn’t been nearly as militant about it as Kukui had been, and Lillie herself knew she didn’t hold a strong opinion about the practice. However, there were certainly a number of locals who strongly decried the practice.

Lillie curled up further into her jacket, hiding her face.

_Marry me, Lucy!_

“They went home after they built that,” Lillie whispered to herself, staring off towards the ocean again. “Whether Lucy said yes or no, they both had somewhere to go back to.”

She raised her head, looking at her two companions. Lei was staring out the window, her expression dark and thoughtful. Tristan caught her eye, then quickly looked away.

 _They both have_ _somewhere to go back to._

Lillie leaned back again, closing her eyes and shifting herself into a somewhat more comfortable position, careful not to disturb Hana’s quiet rest.

_I want to go home._

* * *

The bus dropped them off at the entrance to Wela Volcano Park. They were the only ones to step off, the rest of the passengers evidently heading towards the base camp for the volcano. Lillie stretched heavily, relishing the fact that she was now able to stand again, and Hana clung tightly to her shoulder. Lei and Tristan stepped off after her, and the younger boy furtively glanced around himself. He stopped quickly as the bus took off again, gesturing further up the road towards the national park.

“Th-that’s them.”

Sitting on a park bench just off the bend in the road, two teenagers were smoking and talking. They were relaxed, leaning back, one breaking out into a wide smile when he heard what the other said. Tristan gestured at them, his back now turned. Lei narrowed her eyes at the two, folding her arms. Lillie watched them both before turning her attention back to Tristan’s attackers.

At first glance, she wouldn’t have assumed they were bad people. The design on their shirt was identical to the one Lei wore, though the rest of their clothes were much different. It was like a uniform, with both of them sporting long black board shorts and a white beanie reminiscent of a skull.

 _It’s s_ _uch a_ _familiar_ _outfit_ _._ Lillie watched the two carefully. _They’re just b_ _oys. They can’t be much older than me, if at all. They’re teenagers._

“They don’t look so tough,” Lei said. “Still, this isn’t our fight. If they killed your magby and stole your tauros, who knows what else they’d be willing to do?”

“Where’s the third one?” Lillie asked, looking around. Tristan shrugged.

“Couldn’t you just… just walk up to them with your gun?” Tristan asked Lei. The older girl’s mouth opened slightly in shock. “That’s why I approached you two in the first place.”

“That’s illegal!” Lillie retorted quickly.

“Who cares about that?” Lei scoffed.

Lillie bit her lip. The two guys were laughing, one of them slapping the other on the back. They were positioned so they had a good look at the gravelly pathway snaking up into Wela National Park, though they hadn’t noticed Lillie or her companions yet.

It was still early afternoon, and the sun was high and hot in the sky. Lillie tugged at the front of her shirt, relishing the very brief bit of airflow over her skin. She’d already stripped off the hoodie again, now missing the cold bus interior.

The land to either side of the roadway had been fenced off, with numerous cautionary signs standing at the entrance. Wela wasn’t a particularly tall volcano compared to Lanakila or Hokulani, nor was it as popular of a tourist destination. At this end of the island, there were much fewer people here than at the pokemon center, the only other ones in sight being the two delinquents.

“What do we even do after we threaten them?” Lillie asked. “We took the bus out here, so we just… we just wave a gun in their face and then wait for the bus back?”

“You were the one who wanted to do this,” Lei snarled. “So stop freaking out and let’s do it already.” Lei strode forward, past Tristan and Lillie, not hesitating in the slightest. Hana started growling quietly in Lillie’s ear.

“Hey, wait!” Lillie said, following quickly.

She felt her stomach dropping as Lei walked briskly towards the two boys, who had just now turned to face them.

One had adopted a thin smile, while the other was simply staring blankly. Their dark skin shone in the sunlight, and as they got closer Lillie caught a glimpse of dyed hair poking out from underneath their beanies. The smiling one had blue hair, while the other seemed to have a rainbow of colored hairs sticking out.

The smiling one hopped off the bench – he was taller than Lei, but only slightly. Not particularly muscular, and his friendly face hid any hint of animosity. He reached his arms out to his side.

“Lei!” the smiling boy said. “How’s it been?”

Lillie stopped in her tracks. Tristan bumped into her, muttering an apology. The smiling boy looked at her, then at Tristan, and his smile fell.

“Wait, what...” the boy started.

Lei’s fist collided fully into the boy’s face, knocking him back onto the bench. The other one jumped up quickly, shouting in protest.

“What the fuck, Lei?” the other one shouted.

“You idiots!” Lei shouted, grabbing the blue-haired one by the collar and slamming her fist into his face again. “The fuck are you doing out here robbing people?”

“Hey, hey, Lei, calm down!” The crunch of boots against gravel. Lillie watched the exchange from only a few feet away. Lei’s feral grimace was raw, the anger within the girl barely contained. Tristan cowered behind Lillie, muttering something incomprehensibly.

 _She didn’t_ _hesitat_ _e_ _._

“What were your _fucking_ orders?” Lei shook the blue-haired one and shoved him backwards. He fell back into the arms of the other one, still unable to fully react to Lei’s outburst.

“I...I...” The boy’s eyes welled up with tears, bruising starting to form on the left side of his face. “T-to watch the road leading up into Wela Park to look for the girl...”

“Did any of that include _robbing_ people?” Lei gestured to Lillie, no, behind her, to Tristan. Lillie watched the exchange, detached, looking back from Tristan to Lei and then again.

“It’s just… it’s just what we d-do, right?” The rainbow-haired one helped the blue-haired one to his feet, his voice shaking as he spoke. “W-we beat people down. And I didn’t think… I didn’t think the magby would actually...”

“Get the fuck up,” Lei said, spitting the words. “We have a job to do.”

She turned around, her eyes locking with Lillie’s. She stood in front of the two boys – though she was shorter than both of them, she seemed to tower over everyone present. The crossed white stripes on her tanktop mirrored the designs on the other two boys. Such a familiar design…

Lillie felt her stomach twist, then release. A panicked realization, one that shot through her entire body. Her heart was going to burst from her chest, its rushed beats throbbing in her skull. Lei’s green eyes were cold, gazing straight at her. A rush of cool understanding replaced the panic, and Lillie matched the other girl’s gaze.

_I remember now._

“Tristan, we need to run,” Lillie said, backing away, her voice very level. She tugged at the trainer’s shirt and he glanced at her, confused.

“Sorry, Tristan,” Lei said, shaking her head. “You shouldn’t have gotten wrapped up in this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I've been playing UltraSun. Haven't quite finished it yet!


	39. Part II: Acerola IV

“ _Did my life matter?” I ask._

_“Absurdism,” she says, “is a nifty little idea you humans came up with. You ever take a philosophy class in college?”_

_“I never went to college,” I remind her yet again._

_“Oh, don’t pout about that. I can’t remember all the little details with you people.”_

_“’You people,’” I scoff._

_She grinned at me. “You’re only mad because you think I’m cute.”_

_I prefer to ignore the obvious. “So, absurdism?”_

_“Right! Stop distracting me.” We move out of the pitch black that surrounds us and the universe springs into life. Stars shine, impossibly distant, tiny fragments of beauty fixed within the impossible emptiness of space. Moments later we stop and I gaze down at a familiar planet. “Absurdism,” she says again, “is a philosophy that claims humans seek meaning in a meaningless universe. Like you how you all whine so dramatically at the death of a loved one, asking me ‘Why?’ over and over again. Or when you stub your toe. Or when you just can’t open that damn jar of mayonnaise you feel incapable of living independently.”_

_“How does mayonnaise relate? That’s,” I stop, finishing the sentence in my head._ Absurd _._

_“Exactly.” That same wry smile again._

_“Was this conversation going anywhere?” We fall into the Earth as it spins impossible fast in the wrong direction. Black, ashen clouds dissipate as brilliant flashes disappear and appear along the surface. Soon, light returns to the world and the planet lives again._

_“Eventually, I guess.” She meanders around the words, committing no more to them than to her remembrance of my personal history. We touch down near a grave many miles from a city on the shore. A lone shape stares down at it._

_“Is that...” I start._

_“Your fiancé.” The girl points at the figure standing over my grave. “She’s devastated briefly by your death, but her rebound boyfriend will help her recover, starting tonight. Four years from now, she’s married and has a baby on the way. Her memories of you are replaced – rather quickly, actually – by smiling friends and a loving household. You are further buried by birthdays and graduations and weddings. She dies 53 years, 215 days, 11 hours, 57 minutes, 46 seconds and 46 milliseconds from now. As she passes, her hand is gripped by her loving husband of nearly half a century and she is surrounded by her closest family and friends.” My odd companion’s eyes lock with mine briefly, but then she’s gazing to the side, distracted. “Isn’t that neat? The seconds and milliseconds lined up exactly. I love when that happens.”_

_I watch the love of my life as she leaves. Church bells ring in the distance, their thundering finality beating down upon me. With every boom, a lifetime passes. A hundred coffins smother the earth, with millions more silently disappearing without ceremony. Time marches on._

“ _Why didn’t you let me talk to her?” I ask. The girl shakes her head._

_“Why would I?”_

_“I don’t know. Kindness? A chance at finality?” I raise my hands but lower them just as quickly. “What about in heaven? Or… hell?”_

_“You humans are so silly.” She laughs a light and mocking laugh and it grates against my pride. “If I started mixing you all up when you’re dead, how would we possibly get relationships straight? Is your dead fiancé going to spend eternity with you or her husband and children–” the girl paused, “–honestly, she’d pick her future husband, but there are other cases that aren’t so clear-cut.”_

_“I guess that is confusing.” I sit down. The church bells faded long ago. Perhaps they never rang at all. An ant crawls along the grass between my feet and I stare at it, suppressing a sudden urge to destroy the pathetic and powerless thing. Above me, the girl is still talking._

_“These are the hard questions I grapple with.” She beams proudly, illuminating her mischievous expression. “So way back in the day, I said ‘To hell with this!’ and decided to just erase everybody when they die.”_

_“That seems a bit cruel.” I look at her, hoping to see some sympathy._

_“It’s better than keeping you all around in some paradise.” She scoffs. “Who would manage the place? Me!? I don’t think so. It’d be an administrative nightmare, believe me.” She pauses. “Want to know a nifty little fact?”_

_“What?” I ask, unsure if I care._

_“Humans have this crazy little trait that long relationships bore them.” I feel my heart tighten. “Like your fiancé. See, she’d gotten bored of you years before you died, but she was just so comfortable, you know? Life was easy and she was content, for the most part. But there was always that feeling that something was missing. Once you were dead, she finally had an excuse to, well–” the girl cleared her throat, “–fuck around.”_

_“Thanks for that.” I sigh. “Really.”_

_“No problem!” She grins. “Oh, and about your parents...”_

_“What about them?” I ask cautiously, unsure why she was suddenly changing the subject._

_“They both followed that pattern.” She nudges him, grinning. “Your mom cheated first and your dad was following suit pretty quickly. Neither told the other even though this kept up for years. They both died, still married, without ever telling the other. And oh, that bitterness and resentment those two slobs had for each other continued even after their death. One of your mom’s many – and I mean many – boytoys was even at her funeral.”_

_“What?” My jaw drops in disbelief. “That can’t be true! I had a happy family! We didn’t have problems like that.”_

_“Sure.” She giggles. “Self-delusion is the only medication that really works. Want to know something else?”_

_“No,” I say immediately._

_“I had this situation a little while ago.” She coos in excitement. “See, this disease started developing that would only be really deadly once symptoms started showing and it was ridiculously difficult to cure. I thought it was mildly amusing that all these happy, well-rounded people would suddenly have their whole lives turned on their head. So I just let it keep happening.”_

_“You mean cancer?”_

_“Yeah, I think that’s what it’s called.”_

_“You ignored cancer!?”_

_“Yup!” She enthusiastically replies._

_“Jesus Christ!” I shout at her._

_“Nah, that dude was a fraud.”  
“What the hell is your problem? Whatever happened to the sanctity of human life? Or_ the beauty of the human experience? Don’t we deserve something better? Isn’t it your job to help us?”

_Her fey smile falls away as she stares at me. No, not at me, but into me. Through me._

_“And who am I?” She scowls. “Your nanny?”_

_I pause, struggling to retort, but can think of nothing. “No. I suppose you’re not.”_

_We’re both silent for a long while._

_“We’re really on our own,” I finally say._

_“Everyone is.” She looks out over the bay._

_“I suppose you don’t really have people to talk to,” I say, wanting to remove the awkward quiet that had suddenly grown between us. “What’s it like, being you?”_

_“Eh.” She shrugs. Unsure how to respond, I keep my mouth shut for a while, until the question I’ve been waiting to ask comes to the forefront of my mind. I’m not sure whether or not it’s a good idea to ask, really. Do I really want to know the answer? I take a deep breath and the girl looks at me, curious._

_“What happens to the rest of humanity?”_

_A pause, then she shakes her head, disappointment dominating her distant expression. The sun shines happily in the sky above. All around us I can hear birds singing, light and merry, flitting from branch to branch in blissful happiness. The trunks of grand old trees creak as their leaves rustle pleasantly in the wind. I saw the ocean far away, shining proud and true as it showed off its splendour._

_A mushroom cloud bursts into the air over the distant city, reducing all around it to ash._

_The sun speeds up as time accelerates again. It circles the earth faster and faster as days and years merge together. Wind and rain and radiation erode my tombstone, making my grave unrecognizable. Eventually, we are whisked away into the sky. Below me, thousands of similar nuclear flares light up the surface of the Earth, blackening it forever. At some point the girl sits down next to me on our platform of nothing, crossing her legs. Together we watch the ruins of the Earth._

_“So that’s it?” I ask._

_She shrugs._

_“Why are you here?”_

_She rolls her eyes. “Who cares?”_

_“Did my life matter?”_

_God smiles at me._

_“I’ve already answered that question.”_

* * *

“What a morbid little story,” Acerola whispered to herself, flipping the book closed. It had been an odd addition to the collection of documents in the pocket in front of her.

The airplane lifted off the runway gently and Acerola pressed her head against the back of her seat, closing her eyes in a weak attempt to relax. It didn’t work. She firmly kept her eyes shut until the calm voice of the captain spoke through the intercom explaining they’d achieved their peak altitude.

Eventually Acerola opened her eyes again and looked out the window, watching as Akala Island grew distant behind her. The plane thrummed along, the steady and loud thrumming of the engine reverberating through the craft.

_I wasn’t here for very long at all. Back to Ula`Ula._

Anabel sat next to her, thumbing through a magazine catalog. Across the aisle, Looker had already passed out, a sleep-mask over his eyes and his head tilted awkwardly. He leaned precariously over, and it seemed that at any moment he would collapse onto the anxious-looking woman sitting next to him.

_It’s only a forty-minute flight…_

Acerola placed the book back in the seat pocket, glancing over the other articles present in it. A laminated sheet explaining evacuation instructions, a bag for vomiting in case of flight-sickness, a shopping catalog for the anxious and the quick-to-buy, and a magazine covered by a sweet-looking Alolan girl in a floral dress, holding up a bowl with poi in it. She was smiling, though her entire get-up reeked of marketing – an Unovan tourist’s idea of what a little Alolan girl looked like.

Acerola opened up the magazine, absently flipping through articles. Most of it was on food or ‘unique’ Alolan tourist destinations. Lots of smiling Alolans filled the pages, with an incredibly notable lack of any other ethnicity. Acerola briefly looked around the plane, popping her head up just barely above the top of the seat, though it required her to shift her knees onto the seat cushion itself.

Not a lot of Unovans on the plane. Most looked to be Eastern locals, some in business attire (casual as that was in Alola), while others seemed to be families on vacation or workers who had commuted to Akala for the day. There _were_ the occasional Unovan tourists.

The flight attendants were huddled in the back of the plane, talking quietly among themselves as they got some sort of service together. Probably passing out juice cups, something the Alola Airlines did quite frequently. Every single female flight attendant had some sort of flower in their hair, and they all wore pretty, though professional, floral blouses.

_You only ever see so many flowers_ _when tourists are involved._

Acerola bit back the bitter taste in her mouth as she slumped back into her seat, turning her attention back to the magazine. One particular article caught her eye: _‘_ _Revisiting_ _the Village of Secrets,_ _Two Years_ _Later_ _’_.

It took all she had not to just tear the article apart right then. She looked it over, curious what Mrs. Sandra Clark, the Unovan writer of the article, had to say about the disaster. A brief introduction talking about the growing commercialization of Alolan land, then:

. _.._ _and that’s not even touching on the rampant poverty and high cost of living in th_ _e_ _Unovan territory._ _The town of_ _Waiohinu_ _of Ula`Ula Island_ _, later renamed Henry’s Village and now known as the Tapu Village, had a mix of culture, both of traditional and contemporary and of the rich and poor. On one street corner you’d see run-down shacks that would house two or three local families, often bordering on homelessness. These shacks would_ _lie adjacent to_ _the massive properties of wealthy landowners, who were often less than kind to their less fortunate neighbors._

_One_ _landowner_ _in particular, Tama Pokani, known as Kahuna Pokani, had received extensive negative media attention_ _in the years prior to the disaster._ _For o_ _ne_ _such_ _particularly inflammatory event, he was_ _filmed using a hammer to destroy a cardboard shelter that a homeless woman had built on public land close to the walls of his property. Kahuna Pokani had_ _been_ _mostly_ _successful_ _in l_ _eading a charge to modernize Henry’s Village – indeed, he’d been behind the name change. It was his local campaigning that allowed a multinational supermarket chain to set up shop in town, and he’d been quite vocal and insistent in his plans to gentrify the area to make it more appealing to foreign wallets._

_Two years ago, not long after construction on the supermarket completed, bells started ringing throughout Henry’s Village,_ _which surprised and confused many of the residents. Scientists theorized that it was a pokemon making the noise and that there was nothing to worry about._

_Police chief Nanu of Waiahinu, also a controversial figure on Ula`Ula island due to his frequent opposition to Kahuna Pokani, went on_ _public television urging Waiahinu’s residents to flee. He was publicly ridiculed for this._

_However, the warnings turned out to be sagely. On July 29 of that year, the bells suddenly stopped ringing – the first time in two weeks. It was then that Tapu Bulu attacked, appearing suddenly in the center of the village. Survivor accounts vary drastically, but a few consistent elements to the attacks have been noted by investigators:_

_Large plants and roots sprung up from the ground, ensnaring people and pokemon alike. Some even engulfed entire buildings. These roots then dragged their prey down into the ground, where the unfortunate victims suffocated. Bodies are still being unearthed today._

_The supermarket, believed to be what provoked this indiscriminate attack, was apparently too large to be demolished entirely by the rampaging pokemon, but severe damage was still inflicted on the site. Kahuna Pokani himself disappeared in the attack. Neither his body nor the bodies of his pokemon have been found._

_This incident served as proof of the existence of the Tapu, which had long been believed to exist only in Alolan legends. Numerous researchers have since set up labs in Alola in an attempt to document or capture these pokemon, to no avail._

_Henry’s Village itself, however, was completely abandoned. Deemed cursed by locals, it has since been renamed to the Tapu Village in accordance to ancient tradition for any location destroyed by the Tapu._

_Police Chief Nanu, who relocated to the Po Town center, was later named the new Kahuna of Ula`Ula Island by the Island Challenge Administration. This was not without its criticisms, with many saying the Administration was lax in its…_

Acerola lay the magazine down, sighing heavily. It was a story she already knew very well. Strange to think that it had only been two years since it happened. It had been right after she started her island challenge with Ilima. If she had waited another few weeks to start…

“Maybe I’d be buried there too,” Acerola mulled to herself ruefully.

She leaned her head back, closing her eyes and hoping the airplane ride back to her home island would be over soon.

* * *

“And you’re back.” Nanu shrugged heavily, staring down at her with tired eyes. Acerola met his gaze, not relenting in the slightest.

Anabel and Looker stood in the doorway to Nanu’s makeshift home, both of them very obviously taken aback by the decrepit state of the place. Acerola had warned them, but not sternly enough, she supposed.

It had been a somewhat quiet trip across the island from Malie City. The plane had touched down with no incident and Anabel drove a rental car straight to Nanu’s house. Acerola had guided them, though both of the Interpol agents had been very insistent that she would not be accompanying them after meeting up with Nanu. They hadn’t been the most talkative bunch around her, instead discussing things quietly with each other using vague terms.

“It’s been a while, Nanu,” Looker said, stepping forward, arm outstretched. Nanu hesitantly took it. “So it’s happening again?”

“Aether Foundation doesn’t know how to stop.” Nanu pulled his black jacket on. One of his many meowths jumped up onto the counter, rubbing its head against his arm.

“Aether Foundation?” Acerola asked, confused. “Wait, what exactly is going on?”  
“Oh, no you don’t.” Nanu scowled at her. He stepped up to her, straightening his back. Acerola felt herself shy away almost subconsciously. He towered over her. “No questions. It’s time for the little girl to go home.”

“Little girl...” Acerola grit her teeth. “I’m almost as strong as you are.”

“Almost.” Nanu’s expression softened. “I don’t know what we’re going to find out there. I don’t know what this is or what’s going on. Could be nothing. Regardless, I’m not going to risk you getting hurt.”

“Nanu...”

“Acerola,” Anabel said, smiling at her. “I’m grateful that you took us this far, but this is a matter of international importance. We can’t ethically involve a civilian. You may be a powerful pokemon trainer, but that isn’t enough on its own.”

“I’ve been involved up to this point,” Acerola protested.

“That’s enough, Ace.” Nanu laid a hand on her shoulder. “I’m going to call you a cab and have you get driven back to the Aether House.”

“But…! You’re the one who wanted me to leave there in the first place!”

“And now you need to go back,” Nanu growled.

“Have some faith!” Looker said to her. “Everything will work itself out in the end. Don’t you worry about it.”

Acerola sighed, finally acquiescing. She let herself be led back out onto the damp mud outside, where Nanu flipped open his cell phone to call for a taxi. She looked up at the overcast skies, watching gray clouds mesh and merge together.

_It’s probably nothing. They aren’t telling me anything because they don’t want to worry me._

Acerola kicked a rock, sending it skittering across the mud.

_Matter of international importance, my ass. They’re probably just going to rough up a few Team Skull idiots and give Aether Foundation a ticket or two. It’s probably a waste of my time anyway._

Probably.

“Hey, Nanu,” she turned to him right after he hung up the phone.

“What’s up, kid?”

“I want to live with you.”

Nanu scratched his cheek. “We’ve been over this. It’s too dangerous up here, what with Team Skull and all. You’re better off at the Aether House. It’s closer to your old home anyway.”

“I know. I just want you to know how I feel, is all.”

About an hour later, she was leaning her head against the window of a black cab, watching the sun slowly set as it drove down the long, empty highway. Far above her, she saw a flock of murkrow flying in a v-pattern up towards the mountain. It was awfully early for the nocturnal pokemon to be out. Acerola gripped her fists tightly.

_One of the strongest trainers in the entire_ _region_ _and_ _they won’t let me do a damn thing._

And then, ever so softly, she heard the ringing of bells in the distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The segment at the beginning was actually something I wrote several years ago. I figured it would fit well here.


	40. Part II: Lei

A sickening crack burst through her right ear as she pulled the trigger, and the bullet exploded against the tree trunk next to the running girl.Her target yelped with fear and dove behind a nearby tree. Lei shouldered the gun, watching the dark forest as the girl dipped out of sight.

“Guess we’re going on a hunt, boys.” Lei looked to her two underlings, then past them. The third was running up, a panicked expression on his face. “You’re late.”

“Sorry, boss!” The teenager smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. He was the only one without dyed hair. “Was takin’ a leak.”

“You get the boring job, then.” Lei kicked Tristan heavily in the side, and the boy let out a winded gasp. “Watch this sack of shit until I get back and make sure nobody gets too interested in what we’re doing here. If any cops show up asking about gunshots, say you saw some hunters going the opposite direction. Got it?”

“O-Of course!”

“You have his tauros, right?” The boy nodded. “Take care of it. And only hurt the kid if it’s necessary.”

Her underling bent down, dragging Tristan to his feet, threatening the boy with violence all the while. It was probably terrifying to the young trainer. Just a moment ago he seemed so confused when Lillie was practically begging him to run away with her.

_She’s sharp, but she’s weak. This will be easy._

“You two idiots.” Lei whistled at the other two. “Fan out wide. She’s gonna try to hide. It’s a forest, after all. I’m not letting her get away when the job is this close to being finished. Kepa.” She motioned at the blue-haired one. “You go left. Stay closer to the road in case she circles back. Use your fletchling to survey above. And Rasta.” The rainbow-haired one stood straight up. _I hate that stupid nickname._ “You’re gonna go right. Straight line. Herd her to the left. Use your pancham if you need more breathing room.”

Silently, the two underlings ran off to do her bidding. Lei stared at the ground for a long moment, kicking at a small gravel stone with one foot. Lillie had been so insistent about helping Tristan.

_I_ _dio_ _t girl._

“There was no reason for you to make the wrong choice,” Lei whispered to herself, shouldering her rifle as she spoke. “You could have just run off to the Fire Trial.”

_You’re just making_ _this_ _harder for me._

* * *

_“_ _Gladion?”_

_The blond boy leaned forward heavily where he sat, as if the mere effort of staying upright was too difficult to manage. He stared at the floor between his feet, one hand supporting his head. At the sound of his name, he turned just slightly to look at her._

_“What?” He asked, his voice like acid._

_“_ _W-we’re w-working together today!” She knew she sounded stupid, stumbling over her words like that. “_ _I-I hope we get along!”_

_Gladion just looked at her for a long moment before standing. He tossed his lone pokeball up and down, up and down. He was taller than her, but only just barely. He couldn’t be much older than her, if at all, yet there was a hardness to his gaze that made her want to turn her gaze away._

_“No need to be so stiff,” he said, cracking a crooked smile. It was obviously forced. “It’s not like Guzma gave us a difficult task.”_

_“R-right!_ _It’s nice to meet you!_ _”_

* * *

“Come on out, Lillie!” she shouted, firing her rifle one more time. It dug into the wood of a nearby tree, sending sharp chunks of wood flying. She heard a muffled cry as Lillie scrambled away from the shrapnel.

She turned her rifle quickly, letting off another quick shot. It dug into the earth, just barely whizzing past Lillie’s leg as the girl darted behind more cover. Lei clicked her tongue with disappointment. If she’d landed that, this would already be over.

“Why are you running, little girl?” Lei asked, slipping laughter into her tone.

There was no response. Lillie was running as fast as she could, darting from tree to tree, keeping each path short so Lei couldn’t get a clear shot. It wasn’t just blind fleeing – each move seemed calculated.

_Maybe not such an idiot._

“Sissy.” Lei pressed the button on the pokeball strapped to her belt. The salazzle appeared in front of her, stretching its legs and licking the air with quick darting motions of its thin, serpentine tongue. “Catch her, won’t you, darling? Try not to hurt her.”

_Hurting her isn’t my job, but I’ll do it if I have to._

* * *

_“Is this hard for you?” Gladion glared at her._

_Kaipo stood apart from them both, the gun held firmly in one hand. The big man’s finger uncurled from the trigger, releasing the pressure. In front of their small group, the corpse of the pangoro slumped against the rock face, several large tears in its stomach revealing bloody entrails._

_Lei covered her mouth, choking back the sobs that threatened to wrack her body. The pangoro’s trainer cowered against the nearby wall of the cave, frozen in place._

_“M-monster!” the man shouted._

_“It’s just a job,” Kaipo said, voice rough. He held one hand out, beckoning with his fingers. “Hand the machine over, please. I_ will _shoot you if you disobey.”_

_Hurriedly, the former Aether Foundation scientist rummaged through his pockets for the small, blue ball. It sparkled in the low light, rimmed with yellow rings that seemed to orbit around its speckled face._

_“You have no idea what you’re a part of,” the man shouted, trembling even as he said it. He held the blue pokeball out in front of him, and Kaipo motioned at Gladion, who snatched it from the cowering man’s grasp._

_“Who cares what we’re a part of?” Gladion dismissed him._

* * *

“Don’t tell me you want to do this all day, Lillie!” Lei shouted into the thick forest. She could hear rustling to her right as Rasta and his pangoro shuffled noisily through the underbrush. At least he was maintaining some sort of perimeter. The girl would be forced to move to the west, where Kepa would be waiting.

Try as she might, Lei could never get the girl to respond. Lillie simply kept fleeing, keeping low and always just out of reach. Lei bit her lip with frustration. What should have been a five minute operation could become an hour at this rate. The longer they spent out in this forest, the more likely they’d be discovered by some outside factor. Guzma certainly wouldn’t want to deal with wayward tourists – just Tristan was enough of a problem on his own. The boy would be easily silenced anyway. He’d be given back his tauros, he’d get some hush money for the death of his magby, and he’d have the shit beaten out of him for daring to cross paths with Team Skull. The police would overlook things just as they promised the Aether Foundation, and everything would go back to normal. Sure, Tristan would whine and complain to whoever would listen, but nobody would.

The more people got involved, the less simple the recovery would become. Lei grit her teeth.

_Stop making this hard for me, Lillie._

She clenched her teeth.

_I gave you your chance to run._

“Is this what you’ve chosen, Lei?” A quiet voice from the trees ahead of her. Lillie, the soft timber of her speech filtering through the forest. “You’re one of the bad guys after all?”

“That’s kind’ve a simple way to look at it,” Lei responded. She leveled her rifle in the general direction she heard the voice from. “Just come along with me quietly and I’ll let Tristan go. No harm, no foul.”

“And you’ll take me back to my mother?”

Lei hesitated at the word.

_That’s why we’re capturing her? I knew she was Lusamine’s daughter, but…_

“Hate your mom, huh? Fucking typical for a brat your age.” Lei laughed, twisting the tone of it into a scathing mockery. “Tristan’s going to get hurt because you’re a crappy daughter. How selfish of you.”

The was no immediate response. Lei crept forward, keeping her eye and her gun trained in the general direction that Lillie’s voice had come from.

A flash of light and a scream to her right. Lei turned swiftly, just in time to see a soft yellow shape erupting electricity as it leaped from Rasta’s falling form. The yellow shape darted into the underbrush and Lei fired off a quick shot after it.

“Lei!”

The blonde girl barreled into her, arms reaching around her upper torso. A solid tackle. Both of them scrambled backwards, but Lillie wasn’t quite heavy enough to pull them to the earth. Hands scraped against her back, grabbing at her hair. Lei swung the rifle around, smacking against the blonde girl’s head. A glancing impact as it slid off her forehead.

A shrill shout. For a moment, Lei couldn’t tell which one of them did it.

Lillie’s hands snaked up, grabbing the base of the hair on her scalp. Lei struggled against it, but Lillie’s leg was behind hers now. A sharp tug and Lei felt herself tumbling backwards.

“Fuck!” Lei shouted, smacking at the blonde girl again with her rifle, but the girl was already gone. She’d maintained her footing. Lei struggled against the grassy ground, trying to get some purchase. The rifle had slipped out of her grasp.

“Koa!”

Lei turned, but not quick enough. An armored head smacked into her nose and she saw lights dancing at the edge of her vision.

There was blackness all around her now.

* * *

_“_ _So, what? We just point guns at people and shake them down?” Lei felt herself shaking. Tears were dripping down her cheeks as she shouted. Gladion just stared back at her, ruthlessly indifferent._

_“Yes, that’s what we do.”_

_“_ _Kaipo_ _killed that pangoro.”_

_“_ _Maybe he knew his mightyena couldn’t take it in a fight_ _, so why try?”_

_“Isn’t that wrong?” she shouted. They were close to Po Town, but it was raining hard, muddying the roads and making their journey miserable. The overhang of the abandoned house they’d chosen to take shelter under was cold and miserable, but at least it was safe from the torrential_ _downpour._

_“_ _What does it matter if it’s right or wrong?” Gladion was sitting on the floor, his back against the wooden wall of the porch. “What matters is survival. You_ _really need to understand your situation_ _now that Henry’s Village is under the fucking ground.”_

_Lei bit her lip, unable to spit back any sort of response. It was true. She was only here because… because…_

_“And what about you? You’re the same age as me. You weren’t from my hometown. Why are you even here?”_

_“_ _Because I don’t have a choice, just like you.” Gladion looked at her, and for a moment he looked like he was going to cry. And then it was gone, just like that. “Keep your head down. Do the jobs you’re given. Save some money. Then, when you can, get the fuck out. That’s just what you gotta do.”_

* * *

“Jesus...”

Her ears rung with weighty white noise, the sound of it filling her being. She blinked heavily, struggling to orient herself as her vision swung about randomly. Slowly, her eyes began to focus, and an overwhelming nausea flooded her stomach. She turned, retching onto the grass to the side of her, and she noticed the blood that mixed with the bile.

Lei hesitantly touched a hand to her face, then winced at the sharp pain. Blood. Blood everywhere. She turned so that her back was flat on the ground again and she stared up at the gaps in the tree canopy overhead. Someone was speaking, but the words were muddled, nearly unintelligible. Her head swam and she could hardly orient herself. Liquid that tasted like iron dripped down the back of her throat, itching horribly.

After what felt like a long moment, she tried to sit up, and she saw the girl standing over her. A fearful expression adorned her face, controlled panic hiding behind bright green eyes. Her hair was matted and frayed with dirt. A gun in her hands, pointed at Lei.

_My gun…_

Lei groaned, trying to sit up further, but the shrill voice rang into her ears again, resonating sharply as it cut through the white noise.

“I told you to stay where you are!” The girl was nearly shouting, the sound of it beyond painful. Lei stopped what she was doing, watching Lillie. She could feel thick warmth as blood flowed down over her mouth and dripped off her chin.

_The piece of shit broke my nose…_

Lei stared down the barrel of her own gun and laughed. She threw her head back as the convulsions overtook her body, ignoring the pain as the raucous laughter tore against her aching sides and blood dripped against her shirt. It was just so funny. This little girl standing over her, hurt and vulnerable and terrified, holding a gun to the head of her aggressor and just shouting empty threats. It was too much. Too much.

“What are you gonna do?” Lei said once the fit calmed itself down. “You gonna kill me, Lillie?” She propped herself up on her elbows, watching the little girl as she held the hunting rifle. Her arms were shaking, Lei noticed. She started to pull herself to her feet.

“I will if I have to.”

Unexpectedly hard words. Lei felt herself pause, not quite on her knees yet. The blonde girl had readied the rifle. The safety was off, and Lillie’s fingers rested just above the trigger. Even just an involuntary twitch would fire it now, and it was obvious the girl was shaking just a bit.

“I heard you were tenacious,” Lei said, fighting the blossoming fear in her stomach. “I noticed you knocked out Rasta and his pancham. What about Sissy? Is she still alive?”

“Your salazzle is in its ball,” Lillie said, gesturing with her body towards a pokeball leaning against a nearby tree. “As soon as I knocked you out, it charged me. I returned it so I wouldn’t have to deal with it.”

“Do you really think you can run forever?” Lei finally pulled herself to a standing position, ignoring the blood flowing from her noise and the ringing in her ears. Even as she leaned against a nearby tree, the overwhelming nausea threatened to overtake her. Her head swam, and all she wanted to do was lie down and sleep.

“I’ll run as long as I can.”

“Stupid girl.”

Lei charged, throwing herself off of the tree. For a long instant, Lillie looked like she was going to fire, but she hesitated just long enough. Lei thrust her right hand forward, knocking her palm against the rifle and throwing it to the side. Lillie gasped, falling backwards as the rifle slipped from her grip. Lei lunged.

Another heavy impact. Lei clambered on top of the fallen girl, gripping Lillie’s hands in her own. She bent the other girl’s fingers back, feeling a sharp crack as the other girl cried out in pain.

“Koa! Hana!” she desperately shouted. Lei arced one arm back, feeling around the ground with one hand for her gun. There! She grabbed it, swinging heavily against the girl’s forehead. It hit with a heavy thud. Briefly she saw the light fade in the other girl’s eyes before a darting shadow forced her attention to the side.

The bagon lunged at her, razor-sharp teeth bared in full as the pokemon growled. Lei whipped one arm around instinctively, hoping to bat the dragon pokemon aside. Her arm impacted its chin, but the pokemon found purchase. Lei screamed in pain as the bagon dug its teeth into her skin, ripping and tearing.

“Fucking...!” Lei roared, standing. She slammed the pokemon against the nearest tree. Blood splattered all around her. Again and again she beat the pokemon against the wood, until its grip lessened and the bagon slumped to the ground.

Lei stood over the two of them, Lillie breathing heavily, her eyes shifting occasionally. The bagon was motionless on the ground. Lei watched them both, then examined the blood painted over her arms. It was hard to tell how much of it was her own. Koa’s bite marks left jagged pits in her forearm that pulsed with gentle, leaking pools.

_This was supposed to be easy._

Lei fell to her knees, fighting the overwhelming desire to just close her eyes. Lillie’s breathing was in short, sharp gasps, possibly indicating that the girl was still conscious, if unresponsive. Lei crawled over to her.

A yellow shape darted through the underbrush, electricity sparking as it leaped. Lei yelped, grabbing a pokeball at random from Lillie’s belt. The fuzzy yellow pokemon merely grazed her thigh as it passed and Lei screamed in pain as electricity arced through her body.

Another blinding white light as she pressed down on the central button of the pokeball.

Lei felt herself fall.

* * *

_“_ _You’re leaving? Just like that, you’re gonna go?” Lei stood in the doorway to Gladion’s room as he was packing his belongings._

_“Yeah.”_

_“What about Team Skull? I thought you wanted to join up for good? Guzma was talking about it all last night. He said that you–“_

_“That guy’s all talk anyway.” Gladion sighed, zipping shut the small backpack he’d stuffed all of his belongings into._

_“W-what do you mean?”_

_“Guzma likes what he likes at the time. Right now he likes you and me and the bunch of lowlife kids he’s cobbled together. All of us rejects that do his bidding… we’re just an immature little army for him to throw at people he dislikes. But what if he gets tired of that?”_

_“So what if he does?”_

_“What if he wants something more?” Gladion growled. “Right now he’s content fantasizing that he’s built some sort of fucked up orphanage for troubled youths, you know? You and me, we’re just tools. Once he gets bored of this supposed goodwill and generosity that he feels like he’s building up...”_

_“And so what?” Lei shouted. She was breathing heavily now, clenching her fists. “_ _Isn’t this your home? Isn’t this_ our _home? We’re hard kids, we do rough shit, we get paid, and we do what we want. Isn’t this how we’re supposed to live?”_

_“I’m sorry.” Gladion lifted the backpack, putting his arm through the strap. “I_ _guess I just don’t fit in here after all_ _.”_

* * *

_Bullshit._

Lei gripped Hana’s pokeball tight, hard breaths rocking her body. The yellow mouse pokemon had disappeared. It had been a lucky guess. That’s all it was. She hadn’t been looking. She could have as easily grabbed Koa’s or the stufful’s pokeball. A one in three chance…

_It’s bullshit, Gladion._

Lei straddled Lillie’s prone form, planting her hands on the grass to either side of the other girl’s head. She ignored the pain from Koa’s bite or, rather, it was simply so distant that she didn’t even notice it. The blue dragon pokemon was motionless, crumpled against the ground against the tree to her right. Hints of red tinted the grass all around them both.

“This was supposed to be easy, Lillie.” Lei sighed heavily. Blood from her nose dripped onto Lillie’s face, falling onto her lips and slipping into her slightly open mouth. “You were supposed to make this easy for me.”

A low groan wormed its way out of the prone girl and her body shifted, arms and legs moving underneath Lei as she struggled to regain consciousness. Lei draped a bloody finger against the younger girl’s cheek, stroking it slightly, leaving a trail of bright, bright red.

“You look just like him.” Lei laughed, then coughed with the effort of the laughter. Her body shook as the brief cough sputtered into a fit. She clamped one hand uselessly against her mouth as blood spilled between her fingers. Drops of red stained Lillie’s shirt, sinking into the fabric.

“Lei...” A raspy voice. Lillie raised a hand in protest.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Lei reprimanded softly. She leaned in closer, wrapping her slick hands around the younger girl’s neck. Dizziness overtook her, but she kept her grip strong.

Lillie sputtered, clawing at her weakly, her legs slowly shifting between Lei’s as the girl tried her best to fight back. It wasn’t much. Lei dipped her upper body forward, fighting the urge to sleep, pressing one bloody cheek against Lillie’s.

_It’s bullshit._

“We’re both just pawns, you know?” Lei whispered into the other girl’s ear. “I’ve known it this whole time. Guzma doesn’t care about me. He didn’t care about Gladion. Team Skull is just a tool. A launching pad for his personal use. And what does any of that matter. I’ll keep doing what I do best and nothing will change.”

Lei spat a laugh. Lillie’s hands clawed at her neck where Lei had clamped down.

“You lost,” Lei said, shuddering. There was pain all through her body. Her chest, her arm, her hands. Her head swam, her thoughts fading in and out. One moment she was burning with fever and the next she was freezing cold. Eventually Lillie’s struggling started to fade and her hands slumped uselessly to the grassy green earth.

_This was supposed to be_ _..._

And still, Lei clamped down hard on Lillie’s neck, until tears rimmed her eyes and her vision grew black.


	41. Part II: Lillie VII

Lei’s grip on her neck loosened suddenly and the girl slid forward, collapsing on top of her. Lillie gasped. Her entire body shuddered,relishing the sweet air as it filled her lungs. The screaming pain in her chest stopped as quickly as it had started. Immediately she began to cough, her lungs racking as she greedily sucked for air. The fit was over soon and Lillie was still for a few moments. Lei lay prone on top of her, unconscious.

“Hey...” Lillie said, panicked, her breathing coming in rushed. She sat up and the older girl slipped off of her, blood trailing along Lille’s shirt. “Hey!”

Lillie leaned forward to check Lei’s injuries then stopped, remembering where she was. There was still another Team Skull member in the forest. She fumbled with her belt, drawing Hana’s and her stufful’s pokeballs and releasing the two pokemon.

“Stand guard,” she commanded. Hana seemed to comprehend the instruction, but whether the stufful understood was anyone’s guess. She quickly scanned her surroundings.

Koa was against a nearby tree, struggling to stand. His face was bruised and blood dripped from his mouth. He didn’t seem heavily injured, at least not at first glance.

“You bit her,” Lillie whispered. “That’s why she...”

Gingerly, she looked Lei over, noting the brutal gash on her right forearm and the girl’s bashed nose. Both injuries had been inflicted by Koa and both were still seeping blood… and quickly.

 _What do I do?_ Lillie cursed under her breath, looking around quickly. _If I leave her like this, is she going to die?_

A darker thought crossed her mind, but she shoved it aside. Lillie grit her teeth, pulling off her t-shirt. There wasn’t much she could do about Lei’s broken nose, but… Lillie held out the bloody t-shirt.

“Koa, come here,” Lillie commanded. The bagon acquiesced, waddling over. He paused briefly mid-stride to shake himself off, spraying blood on the unconscious girl as he passed. “Open your mouth.”

Lillie fumbled around in Lei’s pockets, looking for her smartphone and pulling it out. Taking one more long, cautious look around herself, she turned it on. Luckily it wasn’t locked with a password. She opened an internet browser, quickly typing in ‘ _how to make a tourniquet’_ into the default search engine.

It took longer than she would have liked to get the instructions loaded. Lillie read them over,then grabbed the nearest fallen branch she could find. She tested it, making she it wouldn’t break under pressure.

Lei groaned softly, but remained unconscious. Lillie motioned for Koa and commanded him to bite into Lillie’s bloodied shirt. She pulled hard, ripping it in two. The smaller portion she pressed down onto the injury itself, leaning on it with one knee. The other half she started tying around Lei’s upper arm. First, a half-knot to secure it, then she wrapped the loose t-shirt fabric around the branch and began to twist it, using the leverage from the branch to tighten it even further.

The girl cried out in pain and her eyes flickered open. First panic, then a useless struggle. Lei was too weak. She opened her mouth to shout.

“Stop it,” Lillie commanded, clamping one hand down on Lei’s mouth. The girl stared up at her, eyes glazed. “You’re bleeding heavily.”

Lei struggled to sit up, but ultimately fell backwards. She’d lost too much blood. A moment later she was unconscious again, her head impacting the grass with a soft thud.

 _There’s really nothing I can do about her nose,_ _but t_ _he bite is the more serious injury._

She finished twisting the tourniquet and tied it off with another knot. The bleeding in Lei’s arm had slowed considerably. Koa was licking his lips, looking from Lei to Lillie and back.

Just past the bushes, a few feet away from her, Lillie could see the fallen form of one of Lei’s underlings. He’d only been shocked, so he’d undoubtedly wake up soon. Lillie looked around for her bag, picking it up quickly and shouldering it.

It was then that she noticed she was shirtless. Lillie pulled open the bag and grabbed the only other article of clothing she had left – Acerola’s halter top. No time for insecurity now. She put it on quickly.

Lillie cast one last look around the forest before whistling for her pokemon. All three of them ran up to her. She returned the stufful to its ball, not trusting that it would follow them out of the forest. Hana ran up her arm, gingerly sitting atop her shoulder. Koa clicked his tongue repeatedly, still smacking his lips. He sauntered up to her side.

Lei lay where she had collapsed, her injured arm placed on her chest, the rest of her limbs splayed out around her. Blood ran freely from her nose, but at least it had slowed somewhat. The haphazard bandage on her arm was already leaking blood. There was no way Lillie could know how injured the girl really was or how critically she needed medical attention. Lillie gripped Lei’s cellphone tight in one hand. She’d have to call emergency services from the road.

_It looks like a murder scene._

* * *

She kept careful watch of the forest around her as she backtracked to the highway. There was no sign of the other two goons. Koa spent the entire time either sniffing the air or licking his lips.

_I wonder if he’s gotten used to the taste of blood._

Hana had perked up completely, keeping alert the entire time. When they finally stepped out of the forest and into view of the highway, the pokemon stiffened.

A Team Skull grunt leaned against the same park bench, except now Tristan was lying there too, hands behind his back. It wouldn’t have looked too suspicious to a casual observer. Lillie grit her teeth and strode forward. It took a few moments before the grunt noticed her.

“Woah!” The boy stood, pointing at her. “H-hold on! W-What are you doing? Where’s Lei?”

“Your boss is down in the forest,” Lillie said, pointing one thumb back towards the trees. “As you can see, I am covered in blood.” She gestured at her shorts and blood-encrusted arms. “But most of it isn’t mine.”

“Y-y-you’ll pay for that!” the boy shouted. Lillie shrugged, too exhausted to give much of a retort. She nudged Koa with her foot and the pokemon sprang forward. The boy shrieked, falling over backwards as Koa ran up. Lillie whistled and the bagon paused.

“Look, I don’t know how badly she’s hurt, okay?” Lillie cast a quick glance over her shoulder. “She could be fine. She could be dying. I’m not a doctor. But I suggest you get down there and help her out. Do you have a cell phone?”

The boy nodded.

“Good.” Lillie sighed. “I’ll keep hers, then.” She showed the green smartphone to the boy. “Now get moving, unless you want to cause problems for me. That might not be a good idea, though.” Lille walked up to him, to the point that she was now standing over him. “The longer you stand here talking to me, the closer Lei might get to dying.”

The Team Skull grunt scrambled to his feet, but Lillie spoke up again.

“Oh yeah, where’s Tristan’s tauros?” She nudged the boy with one finger. He was watching the whole exchange silently, a blank expression on his face. The Team Skull member fumbled with his belt, pulling out a pokeball and tossing it over. Lillie caught it and the boy kept on running.

“Holy shit,” Tristan said, looking at her.

“Is this it?” Lillie held the ball out and the boy took it, nodding dumbly. “We should get out of here. Maybe head towards the bus stop or the Volcano Park or...”

“Hey,” Tristan said, standing. He had a black eye. “Did… did you just kill Lei?”

Lillie looked at him for a long moment, just now realizing how this probably looked to him.

“God, I hope not.”

“She tried to kill you,” Tristan said dumbly. “Should we call the police? Or an ambulance? Or...”

“Hopefully one of her idiot friends does that for her.” Lillie turned Lei’s phone on again. She started walking down the road towards the Wela Volcano Park, pulling her backpack around her shoulder and digging through it. “Tristan, watch our backs, please. I don’t want them sneaking up on us. I’m going to make a phone call.”

Lillie grabbed the card from inside her bag, still walking briskly forward. She passed through the wide opening in the fence, briefly glancing up at the long, empty road ahead of her. The handwritten number on the business card shone with blue ink, and Lillie’s bloodied fingers left prints of dark red. She plugged the number into Lei’s phone and pressed it against her ear.

It rang for what seemed like forever, but finally it picked up. A pleasant, feminine voice answered. Lillie sighed with relief.

“Hey, Kahili. It’s Lillie, the girl you met at the pokemon center. I have a favor to ask of you.”

* * *

Lillie and Tristan trudged down the blisteringly hot road, moving to the side whenever Tristan called out that a car was coming past. Lillie would hunch over, hoping they wouldn’t stop and notice the blood covering her. Luckily, cars passed only every once in a while. The rest of the hour and a half or so that they spent hiking was mostly without incident.

The sun beat down on them harshly, and Lillie was soon wishing she brought some sort of water with her. Tristan was panting heavily, leaning forward as he walked, too tired to keep his back straight.

Lillie swallowed yet another nearly-dry mouthful of saliva. They’d been careful to watch the road in case Lei and her goons came after them, but they never did. Eventually Tristan gave up on looking over their shoulder constantly.

The road bent every so often, but very gradually. And, of course, it was entirely uphill. All around them the massive lava rock fields lay black and barren, stretching on for miles every which way. The harsh landscape was such that very little lived out here – no one would want to so much as stop to take a look. Every direction looked the same.

It was an hour and a half until a car finally did pull over in front of them. A familiar stiff-looking woman stepped out, pulling off a pair of sunglasses. She wore a familiar hoodie and the same kind of sporty clothes, looking just as uptight as before.

When Kahili got a good look at them, she ran over quickly, speaking in a hurried, concerned tone.

“Oh my god, Lillie. What happened to you?”  
Lillie looked up at her would-be savior and smiled.

“You got any water?” she asked.

* * *

“Team Skull attacked you?” Kahili asked again in disbelief. Lillie leaned forward into the car’s air-conditioning, relishing the cool air as it poured over her. Tristan had already passed out in the back seat. The rank smell of body odor filled the car. If Kahili noticed or cared, she made no outward sign of it.

_A lot of it’s me too, probably._

“Yeah. The girl I was with was in on it. They probably work for Aether Foundation – my Mom’s company – and I’m guessing were trying to kidnap me and drag me back home. I don’t know how they knew where I was.”

“That’s a lot to take in…” Kahili responded hesitantly. Then, “you’re being rather cavalier about this.”

“Am I?” Lillie leaned back in the passenger chair. “You told me earlier that you passed an ambulance where I had gotten into that fight, so Lei’s probably okay. I guess it’s just back to business as usual.”

“I see...”

Lillie nestled into the comfortable seat. Hana had curled up on her lap and fallen asleep a while ago. Koa and her stufful were back in their balls. Out in the distance, she could see the sun just slipping past the rocky landscape and disappearing from view. Kahili had the music turned off to listen to Lillie’s story, but now that the conversation was dying down, Lillie felt the distinct urge to turn it back on.

“You’re not gonna betray me too, right?” Lillie almost laughed when she said it. “That would just be ridiculous, you know? Aether Foundation spies everywhere!” She threw her arms up, chuckling, though the laughter quickly turned into a fit of coughing. Her neck was raw where Lei had choked her.

“You seem exhausted.” Kahili reached a hand over, pressing it against Lillie’s forehead. It was cool, almost cold. “And you might have a fever. It won’t help you at all to fall ill on top of all this.”

“Yeah...” Lillie said quietly.

Lillie felt herself sober up at the touch, the coughing fit dying immediately. She withdrew one leg, wrapping her arms around it. Hana shifted in his sleep, turning slightly to a more comfortable position. Lillie stared at the glove compartment box. It still hurt where Lei had smacked her over the head with the butt of her rifle. Funny that she only noticed that now. Actually, her entire body ached. Her thighs chafed where her blood-soaked shorts had rubbed harshly against her during the long walk. Her entire body was sore. Her head pounded. Kahili had given each of them a two-liter water bottle and Lillie had drained hers almost immediately, but it wasn’t enough. Her lips still cracked raw with thirst.

“I’m gonna drive you to Kiawe’s house. I’ll talk to him and his family about your situation. Maybe something can be done.” Lillie watched Kahili’s other hand as it gripped the steering wheel tight. “I knew Aether Foundation was crooked, but this...”

Kahili fell silent. Lillie buried her head in her hands.

“Kahili...”

“Yeah?”

“I feel sick.”

* * *

“Sima.” Kahili embraced the older Alolan woman. “It’s been too long. I wish we could have met under better circumstances. It’s just as I explained over the phone.”

“Don’t you worry about it. Let’s get the keiki inside.” Sima whistled. A young Alolan man helped Tristan out of the car, talking to him quietly. He was tall and well-muscled, wearing a black tank-top and shorts despite the cold night air. He carried himself much like Professor Kukui did, confident and collected.

 _That’s Kiawe,_ _the fire trial captain._

A young girl hung around the doorway to the relatively humble home. Lillie glanced at her. The girl had bright emerald eyes – similar to Gladion’s, actually. It was uncanny, and Lillie found herself staring for far longer than she should have. She was probably around Tristan’s age. Ten or eleven at most.

“Mimo!” Sima harped. “Get your butt over here and help me.”

“Yes, mama!”

The older woman and the younger girl helped Lillie into the house. As they passed through the living room, Kahili stopped to talk with an older, bespectacledAlolan man. He looked uncertainly at the dour procession as they passed, Kiawe leading Tristan into the living room and Sima practically carrying Lillie back with her.

They stopped in a bedroom and Sima closed the door behind them. Mimo, the younger girl, stood off to the side, looking back and forth uncertainly.

“Mama, who are they?”

“Shush. Get me a wet towel. Warm water.”

Lillie didn’t resist as Sima pulled off the halter-top and looked her over. The woman ran her fingers over Lillie’s scalp, looking for open wounds and bruises. She clicked her tongue as her fingers passed over a heavy welt – the spot where Lei hit her with the butt of her rifle. Lillie winced in pain, muffling a cry.

“You could have a concussion, girl.” Sima reached for Mimo’s outstretched hands, then pressed a warm towel against Lillie’s face and cheeks. It felt _good_. Lillie closed her eyes again, fighting the urge to sleep. “You said you passed out after she hit you?”  
“I didn’t pass out… I think.” Lillie was mumbling. The little girl sat really close to her, watching her with an awestruck expression. “She hit me and I fell, but I don’t remember if I passed out or not. I think I was awake, but I could barely _do_ anything. After she passed out on top of me, I snapped out of it.”

“You beat someone up?” Mimo asked, her voice filled with wonder.

“No, I...”

“Mimo, hush.” Sima silenced the girl. Then, to Lillie: “You seem lucid. If you’re right about what you told Kahili, about Team Skull and Aether Foundation, then it’s probably worse to take you to a hospital. Aether Foundation would find out that you’re there almost immediately. We’ll have to watch you here for now.”

Lillie looked up at the older woman. She was… concerned? The woman’s expression was intense, but fixated elsewhere. She continued to rub Lillie’s face and cheeks with the towel, massaging the dried blood off her skin.

“Why trust me?” Lillie asked. The words slipped out, and she immediately regretted saying it. She bit her lip. Sima examined her for a long moment.

“Doesn’t matter to me if you’re speaking the truth or not,” Sima finally said. “But if two beat-up kids appear on my doorstep, you bet that I’m gonna help out.”

Lillie opened her mouth to say something. She wanted to deny the woman’s statement. It was illogical. Ilima would have pressed for answers and gathered information. Ilima would have probed for inconsistencies in the story or tested her. But instead...

“Thank you,” Lillie said simply. A weight seemed to lift off her chest.

Sima continued to look over her, but eventually the woman was satisfied by her inspection.

“Mimo, get her into the shower. Help wash that blood off her. I’ll get some clean clothes for her to wear.” The woman’s tone was soft, but very firm. It left no room for debate. “Put her dirty clothes on top of the hamper so I can wash them.”

“Y-yes, Mama!”

“And Lillie–” a less authoritative tone now, “–I know trainers don’t like being separated from their pokeballs. There’s a holder on the bathroom counter. Put a towel over them so the moisture from the shower doesn’t get in and damage the metal.”

* * *

She stared up at the ceiling absently, her head leaning back against the plastic cushion at the rim of the bathtub. Mimo was running her hands through Lillie’s hair, commenting on it every once in a while.

There was no way of knowing if she could trust these people, but at least she hadn’t been turned over to Team Skull just yet. Kahili had seemed genuine, and Sima and Mimo…

Then again, Lei had risked her life to rescue her from a wild bewear.

It had been awkward at first getting undressed with a stranger, but Mimo seemed completely comfortable with it. She’d washed Lillie’s back, hair and face, taking extra care not to press against the large lump that had sprung up on her scalp. It stung mightily at even the slightest press.

After they’d finished washing, Mimo had spent most of the bath trying to make awkward small talk, but to little effect. Lillie pushed back a twinge of regret for not being very responsive. Rather than interact with the other girl, Lillie found herself staring at the far wall and zoning out. Eventually Mimo gave up on trying to make conversation.

By the time they were done washing, the girl was completely quiet. Mimo dutifully patted Lillie’s hair dry and then wrapped the towel around Lillie’s shoulders before grabbing her own. Clean clothes had been placed in the adjacent bedroom.

“Did you want my help getting dressed?” Mimo asked, patting her own hair down with a bright green towel. Lillie shook her head and smiled.

“No, it’s fine. Thank you, though.”

The girl smiled and wrapped the towel around her torso, stepping out into the hall and closing the door behind herself. Lillie wrung her hands when the girl left, contemplating her surroundings.

Cool air from the open window brushed over her bare legs. It was a single-story building and there didn’t seem to be another house nearby. She hadn’t gotten a good look when Kahili was driving in, but it looked like a private subdivision with an adjacent ranch, a common feature of Alolan countrysides. There were several houses around the area, but all of them were very much spaced apart.

It looked like a typical family home.

She pulled the borrowed clothes on carefully. The over-sized black t-shirt, probably belonging to either Kiawe or the man with glasses, hung off one shoulder. It was probably a bit too loose, but there was no sense complaining. The board shorts and underwear were a much closer fit, probably belonging to Mimo.

 _I guess she’s about my size,_ _if a bit smaller_ _,_ Lillie thought to herself as she padded across the wooden floor to hang up the towel she’d used.

She retrieved her pokeballs, wondering briefly if she should let Hana out. _No, that’d be rude._ At some point she’d have to wash Koa. The pokemon had been covered in blood.Lillie slipped the pokeballs into her backpack. Nebby’s pokeball sat near the bottom, untouched for most of the day.

Her old clothes had been taken by Sima, but she still had everything else. Lei’s cell phone was in a side-pocket. Lillie had been careful to turn the phone off right after Kahili had picked her and Tristan up. Hopefully Team Skull wouldn’t be able to track it.

_Hopefully._

She opened the door gingerly, peering down the hall. A pleasant din of voices chimed from the living room, near where the front door was. She walked down the hallway, taking long looks at the various pictures on the walls. Family photos of both Kiawe and Mimo when they were younger. Horse-riding, biking, pokemon battling. The same faces in different times, each one of them smiling.

She stopped at the corner where the living room met the hallway, listening to the conversation.

“His mother will come pick him up tomorrow. She’s just relieved to hear Tristan’s safe.” This was a rough but quiet voice, older and masculine. Probably the man with glasses. “She’s flying out from Melemele.”

“I’m surprised you got hold of her so quickly, Rango.” This was Kahili’s voice, with familiar clipped, awkward phrasing, like she was thinking over every word before she said them. “Did Tristan tell you her number?”

“Yes.” Rango again. “The boy is frightened and upset. He just wants to go home.”

“Right. But then what about...” A younger, male voice. Kiawe?

Lillie turned the corner. Kahili, Kiawe, Sima, and Rango were sitting around in a rough circle as they talked. When they saw Lillie, the conversation slowly died down. Lillie stared at the group, her mouth open, unsure what to say.

“Here, keiki, sit down.” Sima smiled at her warmly, patting the couch cushion next to her. “Let’s figure this out together.”


End file.
